AURA: Book One: Trials and Tribulations
by Zeea
Summary: In an Alternate Universe: Maria, Liz, Alex, and Kyle are the aliens, the group formerly known as the Pod Squad, is now human.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **AURA: Book One: Trials and Tribulations

**Author:** Zia

**Rating: **Teen

**Disclaimer:** Roswell does not belong to me. How sad.

**Summary:** In an Alternate Universe: Maria, Liz, Alex, and Kyle are the aliens, the group formerly known as the Pod Squad, is now human.

**Author's Note:** This idea, came about 7 (almost 8) years ago, when the Amazing AlexEvans came up with an RPG.

**Second Note:** I plan to write this as a series of 'books' which will really just be multiple fics, following the same story.

**Book One: Trials and Tribulations: Chapter One**

Maria DeLuca, a short blonde pixie of a girl was waiting tables at Roswell's infamous Crashdown Cafe. Clad in the usual teal colored uniform, with a skirt that was obscenely short. Topped off with a pair of bobbing silver antennas. The restaurant was busy. A normal Saturday afternoon rush. The usual local teens, along with the Alien-Obsessed. She'd spotted her best friend Liz showing a picture to a pair of them. The Obsessed thought it was an alien, but Maria knew the truth. It was a doll. A sad little baby doll with a melted face.

Sometimes, it made her a little queasy. Cashing in on their heritage. Liz swore by it, considering it got her better tips. But Maria loathed it, and considering her mother owned a local shop that sold all things alien – suckers, dolls, stickers, hats, T-shirts, the works. Anything you could think of, Amy DeLuca had it. As long as she lived in Roswell, New Mexico, she would never be able to escape it.

Out of the corner of her eye, Maria spotted Michael Guerin watching her. Her breath caught in her throat, and she slammed into an empty table. "Ow." She bit out, cursing the table silently, when she looked back up, Michael was looking at his friend Max Evans. "Idiot." She mumbled.

"Can I get a refill?" She heard an annoyed voice demand and turned her head.

"Sure," Maria nodded and fixed the chair at the table and darted behind the counter to get another coke for the annoyed girl.

She glanced up hearing a few guys at the corner booth arguing, the volume steadily growing louder. "Liz." She called, then nodded her head towards them.

"I'll go get Dad." Liz said, and turned to walk away.

Suddenly the men were standing. Maria saw a gun. She heard a scream, and a moment later realized it was her own. Everyone else hit the floor. Maria ducked behind the counter.

Pop.

The sound exploded through the air. "Lets get outta here!" Maria heard and peeked around the corner of the counter and saw the two men running out the door.

"Liz." Maria said, and slowly started to stand up, her eyes searching the room for her friend. And there she was. Laying between two tables closest to the counter. "Liz!" Maria screamed and ran for her friend. Blood was gushing everywhere. Maria pressed her hand against the wound as firmly as she could. "Liz!" She begged. "Do something." She hissed quietly.

"Can't." Liz whispered.

"Try." Maria cried, trying to connect to her friend. Trying to let her own energy flow into her friend, to give Liz the energy to heal herself. "You have to. I can't do this alone. I just can't." Tears were streaming down her face.

"I love you, best friend." Liz smiled weakly.

"Love you too." Maria whispered, her fingers slipped in the blood. In the distance Maria heard sirens. "Hold on Lizzie, just hold on."

And then there was nothing. She was dead. Maria knew it. She could feel it. Part of herself died. "Liz." She whispered.

The petite brunette girl's eyes were open part way, but empty, her mouth slack, head tilted to the side. Maria couldn't move, she just sat there, staring. Suddenly she was being pulled away from her friend. "No!" Maria screamed, she felt another set of hands grab her arms, gently, but firmly. The Paramedics went to work on Liz. Trying to revive her. But Maria knew there was no hope. She was dead. And Maria felt empty.

"Call it." One of the paramedics said.

"One-Twenty-Three."

The reality came crashing down on Maria. It was true. She spun around and came face to face with Michael Guerin. Her head was spinning. She felt sick. Blood was sticky between her fingers. Still warm on the front of her uniform. She wondered how it had gotten there. "I have to find Alex." She told him, and pulled away from him. A second later she bolted out the front door.

"Alex, Alex, Alex, where are you?" Alex was her other best friend. And he was like herself, and Liz.

She couldn't figure out why there was so much blood on her. So much. She looked down and touched the blood, then winced as pain exploded through her body. Her knees gave out and she hit the sidewalk, hard. "Damn it!" She screamed out. She couldn't function. She couldn't even walk.

Maria pulled herself to her feet and stepped down one of the alleys between two buildings, and ripped open the front of her uniform. The blood was coming from her. There was the start of a small hole in her stomach, that blood was oozing out of. "What the hell." She swayed slightly and touched the wound. Her mind flashed to Liz. Bullet hole in her stomach.

Suddenly the pieces came together. She had connected with Liz, giving her energy, while trying to take away the pain. And somehow, in that connection, she had taken away part of the wound, and given it to herself. Suddenly she was mentally yelling and screaming at herself, berating herself for not being stronger.

She had to find Alex. She had to get home.

"What the hell?" Maria jerked her head up and saw Michael standing in front of her. Staring at her. More precisely staring at her stomach. Maria quickly pulled her uniform shut. "You were hit?" He asked confused. "The gun only went off once." His hand reached towards her, and Maria darted away from him, stepping out of the alley. "Maria." He demanded and grasped her arm.

"It's nothing."

"You're bleeding." He hissed.

"I cut myself... when I ducked... broken bottle." Maria tried to come up with an explanation.

"Then why does it look like a bullet hole."

"You're delusional." She snarled at him, then felt his hand yanking hers away from her uniform and pulling it open again. "Pervert!" She smacked him as hard as she could, which really wasn't all that hard, considering she had no energy left in her body. The smell of the blood was making her head float.

Her knees gave out again, but this time there was no concrete sidewalk to catch her. A warm pair of arms held her securely. "Let me take you back to the Crashdown, the paramedics can take a look at you."

"No... have to find Alex. Please, just find Alex." Tears were rolling down her cheeks and Michael sighed, he lifted her up and carried her back into the alley so no one would see them, and then he grabbed Maria's phone and found Alex at the top of her list.

Two and a half rings later he picked up.

"Hey Mars, aren't you supposed to be working?"

"Whitman, it's Michael Guerin. Get down to the Crashdown, now."

"Where is Maria? What are you doing with her phone?" Alex's voice sounded panicked.

"Just get your ass down here. We're in the alley about two blocks down from the Crashdown. Get here. Now." He slammed the phone shut and tucked it back into the front pocket of her uniform.

Michael looked back down at Maria's face. She was pale. Paler than usual. He wiped his bloody hand on his jeans before stroking her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open slightly and she forced a small smile onto her face. "You stare at me." She whispered.

"Maybe." He answered, then gently pulled her headband off and stroked her hair. "Don't you dare go to sleep on me." He wasn't sure how much of the blood was hers, and how much was Liz's.

It felt like an eternity before he heard Alex's voice at the end of the alley, but he knew it hadn't been more than ten minutes. "Maria!" The voice called.

"Over here." Michael called, sticking his head out from around the edge of the dumpster that they were hiding behind.

Alex bolted towards them. "Maria?!" He asked in a panic. "What happened?" He knelt down beside her and touched her face, then saw the blood. "Tell me what happened."

"Liz died." Alex's stomach lurched. "I tried to help. But... I think I hurt myself." She whispered, carefully parting her uniform to show him the hole. About the size of a pencil eraser. Blood was steadily dripping out of it though. "Liz got shot. She died. I was trying to help her, but she died."

Alex pretty much shoved Michael out of the way and scooped Maria into his arms. "Thanks, Guerin, but I got it." He headed back towards his car.

"What the hell is going on." Michael demanded.

"Nothing that concerns you." Alex set Maria down in the passenger seat and buckled her in before running around the car to the drivers side. Then he pulled away quickly before Michael had a chance to ask any more questions.

"What did you tell him Maria?" Alex asked concerned. 

"That I fell on a broken bottle."

"What really happened?"

"Liz got shot. I tried to help her heal herself, but it didn't work. But... I think I took some of the pain away from her." Maria looked down at her stomach. The hole. "Michael knows I was lying."

"Well he doesn't know the truth. That's all that matters." Alex reached over and gently grabbed his friends hand. "Lets just take care of you for a minute, then we'll worry about everything else. Is your mom home?"

"She had a convention this weekend in Texas."

"Good." Alex nodded and drove to Maria's house.

Alex helped Maria into the house, and laid her down on the couch. "I don't think I can heal this Maria."

"If we both try, we can." She insisted, and Alex rested his hand against the wound, and then Maria's rested on top of his. They both closed their eyes. Warmth flowed through both of them. A peaceful feeling. Warm. Comfortable. Safe.

Maria's eyes fluttered open. The pain was gone, she pulled her hand back, and so did Alex. There was just a faint trace of where the hole had been. "I think that is the best we can do." Alex said, and watched as Maria sat up, then climbed onto the couch beside her.

"She's dead, Alex. She's really dead." Maria's voice came out just barely a whisper. Alex could feel the pain rolling off of her.

"I know." He sighed and wrapped his arm around her, and pulled her close. She went willingly, wrapping herself around him, her face buried in his chest, breathing him in, then a moment later sobs wracked her body.

"Shh." Alex cooed against the top of her head, one hand smoothed her hair, while the other gently rubbed circles on her back.

Over an hour passed before either of them moved. Alex simply sat there, trying to comfort his friend. While in the back of his mind, he was trying to figure out what they were going to do about Michael Guerin. He had seen too much. He saw Maria bleeding. He saw the hole, and he was there, he knew she wasn't shot. She didn't fall on a broken ketchup bottle.

The front door flew open, revealing a frantic Amy DeLuca. "Maria!" She cried seeing her daughter sitting on the couch.

"Mom." Maria sat up and cried. A moment later she was thankful for Alex's quick flick of the wrist, her uniform was securely buttoned shut again.

"I heard about the shooting at the Crashdown, I sped the whole way home, are you okay? Oh god, you're covered in blood." Amy was frantic. Her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest.

"It's Liz's." Maria whispered. "She's dead." Maria choked on the words. They made her stomach churn, but she couldn't stop saying them. "She's dead." They repeated in her head, like a mantra. She's dead. She's dead. Liz is dead.

"Oh, baby." Amy walked over to her daughter and pulled her into her arms. "You're okay. It'll be okay, I know it doesn't feel like it now... but it'll be okay." She whispered. Liz was like her own daughter. Liz, Maria and Alex were inseparable. Amy thought it contributed largely to the fact that they were found together in the desert. They were kindred. And now one of them was gone.

Maria broke down into a new fit of tears, and Amy rocked her gently, then reach out with one hand to grab Alex's. She could see he was trying to be strong for Maria.

"I've gotta go." Alex suddenly spit out. He stood up and kissed the top of Maria's head. "Call me if you need anything." And then he was gone.

Maria stayed curled up in her mother's arms, listening to her as she hummed a song that she used to when she was just a child. Every time Maria had a nightmare Amy would climb into bed with her, or let her climb into bed, and sing a soft little song, and it never failed to calm and soothe Maria.

Maria was trying to let it calm her. Trying to let it soothe. But it wasn't working. The sobs were still bubbling from her throat, and she was clutching one of her mother's arms that was wrapped around her.

Maria had her eyes closed, and Amy wasn't sure if she was asleep or not. "Baby?" Amy asked softly, and Maria's eyes popped open.

"Hm?"

"Why don't you go climb into bed." Amy suggested, and smoothed a lock of hair back from Maria's face.

"No."

Amy sighed. "Let me go grab something really quick." She stood up and disappeared into her room, then came back a moment later and sat beside her daughter again. "Open."

Maria looked at the little vile, and then opened her mouth.

"Tongue up." Maria obeyed, and then felt a cool liquid drop under her tongue. A bitter taste flooded her mouth and she squinted.

"Gross."

"It'll help you sleep." Amy sighed and put the bottle on the table before cupping Maria's face. "You need to sleep. Why don't you go take a shower, and crawl into bed."

Maria nodded a little. She looked down and realized she was still wearing her bloody uniform. She made mental note to burn it the first chance she got. "Okay." Maria whispered and got up from the couch. She walked down to her room and stripped off the ruined green dress and threw it on the floor near her hamper before walking into the bathroom.

She lit a few candles that always helped to calm her and turned on the water. Maria climbed in and let the hot water beat down on her skin. Warmth enveloped her, but she felt cold on the inside. She spun the knob all the way to the left. The water grew hotter and hotter. Her skin was pink. But she still felt cold. There was still blood on her. Dried to her skin. She grabbed the soap and started scrubbing as hard as she could. Till her skin was raw.

With a sigh she climbed out once the blood was washed away, and wrapped a towel around herself. Maria walked into her room and sat down on the edge of her bed. There was a picture of her, Liz and Alex sitting on her dresser. She could feel tears burning her eyes. What were they supposed to do without Liz?

Maria found her pajamas and pulled them on slowly, she ran a comb through her hair and then climbed into bed. In the morning, she had to work. Go back to the place where her best friend died. She laid down on her stomach, and shoved one hand under the blankets and fished around for a moment until she found the small stuffed creature. She stuffed him under her chin and buried her face in her pillow. Seconds later she was sound asleep.

Michael Guerin was laying on the bed, in his foster home, angrily staring up at the ceiling. He was angry because he knew Maria and Alex lied. Something happened. He wanted to know what. Liz died. He saw that, but Maria... that wound. Was not from a bullet. He stood up quickly, but as quietly as he could. His current living arrangement left him with a young foster 'brother' who was sleeping soundly in the bed five short feet away.

Carefully he tiptoed to the window. Dylan – the boy in the bed – let out a loud snore. Michael froze for a second, his eyes darted to the kid, who was still sleeping. Once he was outside he let out the breath he had been holding. The foster care system sucked. This one, wasn't too bad. Compared to some of the others. Compared to Hank. The thought of it made him shudder. Hank had beat the shit out of Michael the first day he was there.

The next day Hank was carted off to jail, and Michael was dropped into another foster home. And now, eight and a half foster homes later, he was sneaking out of the Pascal's house. He hoped that Dylan didn't wake up. Or that Mrs. Pascal didn't decide to check up on them. He'd been living there a few weeks, but he wanted things to just be calm.

He walked away from the house, and when he got to the street he started a slow jog towards Maria's house. Her bedroom light was off as he approached the house, silently she walked down the alleyway and saw the light turn on. Cautiously he watched her. She sat on the bed. Eventually she got up and pulled on a pair of pajamas. He caught a glimpse of her naked back and he swallowed hard.

He watched as she shut off the light, though the street lamp was providing a soft glow in her room. She crawled into her bed and he walked closer. Watching. She shoved some stuffed thing under her chin with her hands and within seconds she was asleep. And Michael just stood there, and he watched her. Stared at her.

Her breathing was even. Slow and steady. A lock of her hair fell over the side of her face and his fingers itched to brush it back.

Truth of the matter was, he did stare at her. All the time. He wasn't in love with her, like Max was with Liz. Something about her was drawing him to her. He remembered a day, so many years back, before Amy DeLuca adopted Maria. They were both in the orphanage. All of the kids were outside playing. He was standing against a wall brooding. None of the kids liked him. He didn't care.

And then he saw her. Bouncy blonde curls, attached to this crying girl. She was sitting on the grass, her knees pulled up to her chest, sobbing quietly. And then he'd spotted the reason for her tears. Two boys that were a year or two older than him were picking on her. One was poking her with a stick, the other calling her names.

Michael wasn't sure what caused him to do it. He wasn't sure why he ran across the playground and slammed his fist into the faces of one of the boys. The other boy's mouth dropped and Michael shoved him down. And it started an all out brawl. Fists were flying. He could hear Maria's screams to stop. But they didn't. Until an adult realized what was happening and yanked them all apart.

Michael, himself of course was the one that got into trouble. No excuse, they told him. No excuse for what he did. He had tried to explain that they were picking on Maria, but they didn't listen. Later that evening, Maria deposited herself beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. "My Hero." She whispered.

And then she was adopted by Amy a few days later. When school started she clung to Alex and Liz, and occasionally offered him a smile, but nothing more than that. She was this warm and bubbly person, and he wanted inside of that. He wanted to have that kind of person in his life.

He had Max, Isabel, and Tess. And they were his friends, but something about Maria. He had talked to Tess on occasion about Maria. About his attraction to her. His pull towards her. And Tess would go on and, with some psychobabble about soulmates. Which Michael thought was a load of crap.

Michael knew he should leave. It was way too late to be standing out here, lurking outside of her house. Someone was going to see him and call the cops, and that was definitely not what he needed. Tess' dad picking him up for being a peeping tom. He'd never let Tess near him again.

Maria woke up before her alarm even went off. She glanced at the clock. She honestly had an hour before she had to get up. But she got up anyways. She took her time getting ready. Moving as slowly as she could. She stood in front of her closet. Staring at the teal green uniform. This one clean, pressed. Just waiting for her to put it on. "I can't." She whispered. She closed her eyes tightly. "Liz, help me." Maria breathed out. Desperately hoping for something. Any hint that Liz was somehow with her. Helping her to get through the day.

Slowly she reached out and wrapped her fingers around the hanger and pulled the dress out of the closet. Each move was done meticulously. One button at a time she undid them. Then she slowly pulled the dress on. First up one arm, then the other. Wrapped it around her. Button it down. Press. Snap. Press. Snap. The Alien head apron, vacant black 'eyes' staring at her. She wrapped it around her waist, tying it carefully. Her white socks, and then tennis shoes. Cross. Loop. Wrap around. Pull through. Tighten.

Her eyes caught her reflection. She looked hollow. Empty. Exactly how she felt. How could she possibly plaster a smile on her face and go about her normal day, knowing that her best friend wasn't there to share it with her. She picked up her spare headband and pulled open her bedroom door and nearly jumped a mile when she saw her mother standing there.

"Oh! You're awake." Amy looked alarmed. "Mr. Parker just called. He closed the restaurant for now."

"Oh." Maria looked down at her headband and dropped it to the floor.

"Let me help you Maria, please, let me do something." Amy begged softly. She was worried for her daughter. Maria had never lost anyone before. Not like this.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk."

"Okay." Amy nodded and walked away from the door. "Take your phone with you." She called back to Maria.

Maria closed her door again and ripped off her uniform as quickly as she could and found a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. She grabbed her phone and took off quickly out the front door.

She started out walking. A steady pace. Just walking, away from her house. And then she started to jog. Slowly. One step at a time.

Then she was running, as fast as her legs would carry her. Pumping. Step after step. Taking her faster and farther away. Her heart was slamming in her chest as she reached the outside of town. Her breathing was uneven. But at least her heart was beating. She was breathing. She took a deep breath and started back towards the center of town.

She reached the park and found a bench, and her legs gave out. She collapsed onto the bench and hung her head, face buried in her hands she began to sob. Maria had been hoping to run from the pain. From the heartache. From what she was. But she couldn't get away. She couldn't escape it. Maria was trapped. Surrounded by the deafening reality that she was an alien, her best friend was dead, and her life would never be normal.

A hand touched her back and she jumped, nearly falling off the bench. When she turned her head she expected to see Alex. But it wasn't him. It was Michael.

"What." She demanded, wiping her face with the backs of her hands.

"Just wanted to see if you were okay." She pinned him with a look that said 'are you stupid?' and he sighed. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just meant..." He wasn't sure what he meant. Michael scratched his eyebrow. He'd just seen her sitting on the bench and wanted to be near her. "How is your stomach."

"Fine." She told him, sitting herself back on the bench, but as far from him as possible.

"What happened Maria?" He looked over at her and saw her whole body stiffen.

"You were there. You saw everything."

"Yeah, I saw you with a hole in your stomach, bleeding. You didn't fall on a bottle."

"Yes, I did."

"Then where is the hole in your uniform?"

"How do you know it wasn't there? You were too busy staring at my boobs to see anything else."

"Maria..." Michael sighed heavily.

"I"ve got to get home." She stood up suddenly.

"Would you just wait-"

"I'll see you at school." Maria said and then took off running again. She jogged at a slightly slower pace all the way home. She walked inside and saw her mom sitting on the couch, sipping a cup of tea.

"Better?" Amy asked, and Maria shook her head. "There is tea in the kitchen."

She didn't move for a very long minute. Just stood there. Then she took a breath and walked over and crawled onto the couch beside her mom, and laid her head down in her lap. Gently Amy stroked her fingers through Maria's hair. "I know you hurt baby, but, you can't just lay around the house forever."

"I know." Maria whispered.

"You going to school tomorrow?"

"Do I have to?"

"No, I'll call and excuse you in the morning."

"Thank you." Maria whispered and let her eyes slip shut.

The next day at school, Michael couldn't focus on anything. His mind kept drifting back to Maria. Was she okay? Where was she? Why didn't she come to school? Was she okay? He kept trying to convince himself she was fine. It makes sense that she wouldn't come to school, her best friend was just killed. But he needed her to come to school. He needed to know she was okay. He didn't know why, but he needed it.

"Michael!" Isabel yelled, staring at her friend.

"What!" He snapped back. "You don't have to yell." He hissed.

"Well if you would have answered me one of the first twenty times I called your name, I wouldn't have. What the hell is your problem?"

"Drop it." He muttered, and hung his head.

"Please don't tell me you were harboring some secret crush on that Parker girl too." Isabel Evans sighed. It may have been a tacky thing to say, but her brother had been fawning over her since... the first day Parker landed at their school. And not once did he make any sort of move. They were lab partners, but he never said anything. And now she was dead. And her brother was a wreck.

She wanted the normality back. Being able to tease her twin brother about his crush on the Science-Girl. But if she even mentioned his name, his whole face would just fall. He'd get this completely dejected look, and zone out. And at the moment, that is what Michael was doing. And it was freaking her out.

"Shut it, Iz." Michael grumbled.

"Michael, talk to him, please." She begged softly. "I don't know how to help him, you're his best friend... Please."

Michael looked at her, then at Max, who was walking aimlessly around the quad. "Yeah." He shrugged. "I'll try." He wasn't good with words. She knew that.

"Izzy!" Both Isabel and Michael looked up hearing the high pitched voice of Katie Wells, Co-Captain of the cheerleading squad. "We've got practice!" The bubbly brunette shook her pom-poms at Isabel and then took off towards the field where the girls were waiting.

"I've gotta..." She sighed.

"Go."

Michael sat there, alone, staring at the table top. Thinking. His mind drifting back to Maria. Max. Liz. All that blood. She was covered. How could she just be okay? Maybe she wasn't, maybe she was in the hospital.

"Kiss." Michael looked up and saw Tess Valenti standing beside him, her finger resting on her cheek. He obeyed, pressing a kiss against her cheek, before she sat down across from him.

"What was that for?" He asked.

"Because you love me." She said matter-o-factly.

"Why do I love you?" He asked with a smirk and she kicked him under the table.

"Because you know I will kick your ass if you don't."

"Ow!" He yelped, and rubbed his shin, then smiled a little at her. "Yeah, I know." He nodded. "But, really, what's up?"

"I found something for you." She produced a piece of paper from her pocket, and held it between her fingers, holding it out towards him.

Michael reached up to grab it, but she reacted quick and kept it out of his reach. "Not till I hear you say it."

"No." He grumbled.

"Say it Michael, or you don't get my surprise." She grinned. And Michael couldn't help but smile. Of course he loved Tess. She was his best friend. She was the one he always went to first. She had this happy-go-lucky attitude, always smiling. But he knew she wasn't that way on the inside. Not since her mom died, but she put up a good front.

"Alright, I love you." He grumbled, his voice quiet, almost unintelligible.

"What was that?" She leaned forward a little, a wicked smirk, gracing her features.

"Fine, I love you." He said louder, and clearly, then snatched the paper from her hand. "You know... if your father knew what you did in your free time..." He trailed off raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well he won't." Tess rolled her eyes. "He wouldn't notice, even if he was the one arresting me." She shook her head.

Michael looked at the paper. Maria's address. "How did you..." Michael already knew where Maria lived, but Tess didn't know that. Or maybe she did, and this was just her not so subtle way of telling him to get off his ass and make sure that she was okay.

"How do you think? I have that period before lunch, all the secretaries are busy with their own thing, they don't notice when I wander off." Tess smiled. "Go check on her."

"You know, I do love you."

"I know." Tess nodded. She stood up, adjusting her skirt. "I'm going to go make fun of the cheerleaders now."

"You know, you used to be one!" Michael said as she started to walk away.

"Used to be! I'm entitled to it!" She laughed and took off towards the field. She had been a cheerleader the year before, and all through middle school, but after a fall the Homecoming game last year, she'd decided, with the help of a broken ankle, to quit the squad.

Michael sat there for a few minutes longer, staring down at the paper in his hand. He unfolded it, then folded it again. Unfolded it, and folded it a different way. He had to make sure she was okay. He got up quickly and jogged off campus, and headed in the direction of her house.


	2. Chapter 2

**Book One: Trials and Tribulations: Chapter Two**

Amy peeked in her daughter's bedroom, checking on her, making sure she was okay. The blankets were on the floor again. She sighed and walked inside and pulled them back up and tucked Maria in. She wanted to be able to protect Maria from all the hurt. But how could she protect her from something like this?

Amy silently closed the door and headed back into the living room. How was she supposed to protect Maria from the pain of life? She knew she couldn't. But she wanted to. There was a knock on the door and Amy jumped, and quickly walked over to open it, hoping it hadn't disturbed Maria. "Hello?" Amy tilted her head to the side. The boy seemed familiar, but she couldn't place him.

"Uh..." Michael scratched his eyebrow. Amy DeLuca. He swallowed. She looked really tired. Fragile. "I...go to school with Maria, I just wanted to..." He shifted from one foot to the other. He hadn't been expecting anyone other than Maria. "Make sure she was okay."

Amy smiled warmly. "She's sleeping now. You know what happened, right?"

"Yeah, I was there." Michael reached up and scratched the back of his neck.

"She'll be okay. Once she realizes, that life still goes on." Amy told him, then she just stared at him for a moment. "I remember you now. You were at the orphanage when Maria was there, weren't you?" He nodded slowly. "The day I went to pick her up, you were giving me the dirtiest looks."

Michael blushed at the memory. He had been. "I was just worried about her. I'd had a few foster families already..." Namely Hank. "I just wanted her to be okay."

Amy nodded a little and smiled. "That's okay." She nodded. "I understand. It is good to know that someone cares about my daughter so much. Do me a favor? Tomorrow morning, before school, come by? Alex has been avoiding her, she needs to go to school."

"Sure." Michael nodded a little, then turned and headed back to school.

The next morning, Michael got up a little earlier than normal, but to the Pascal's surprise.

"Good morning, Michael." Mrs. Pascal smiled, while bouncing baby Sarah.

"Morning."

"You're up early."

"Yeah..." He scratched his eyebrow, he hated having to explain himself to people. "Walking a friend to school." He told her, then quickly darted out the door, avoiding anymore questions. He walked hurriedly to Maria's house and took a breath before knocking.

Amy answered, in her pajama's, but with a smile. "Thanks, Michael."

"No problem. Is she ready?"

Amy shook her head. "She isn't even out of bed yet."

"Oh..." Well then, what was he supposed to do?

"Her room is the second door on the right." Amy said, then walked away from the door, allowing him to come in.

Cautiously Michael walked inside. He wasn't expecting to have to wake her up too. He was nervous as he walked down the hallway, his hands were trembling slightly. She was going to beat the shit out of him for walking into her bedroom, and waking her up. He knocked lightly, and didn't get a response, so, ever so slowly he opened the door.

"Mom. Go away." She grumbled, and Michael couldn't help but grin.

She was sprawled out on her stomach, her pillow over her head, her blankets half off the bed, so they only covered part of one of her legs. Her pajamas were white, and pink, with little bunnies on them. Exactly what he would have imagined her wearing, if he had imagined her in her pajamas...

"Maria,"

"Oh god!" She yelped, somehow her pillow flew off the bed, the blankets were suddenly wrapped around her and she was staring at him in shock. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"You're mom asked me to-"

"Mom!" Maria shrieked, and Michael winced.

"Just get ready for school, Maria." Michael said calmly, and she just stared at him.

"What are you doing here?" She asked again.

"I told you-"

"No. Why did you come over in the first place, apparently, that gave my mother the brilliant idea to have you come over and make sure I went to school."

"I came to check on you yesterday, when you didn't come to school... I was worried."

Maria was in awe. He was worried about her? "Get out."

"Maria, get ready for school."

"I'm not moving, until you close that door."

"I'll be back in five minutes, and I'm not knocking." He turned and shut the door, then smirked. That should get her moving.

Maria was suddenly frantic. He wouldn't really, would he? She got up quickly, and found some clean clothes, yanked them on, and in the process kicked her bloody uniform partway under her bed, she could worry about it later. She didn't bother to brush her hair, but did stop in the bathroom to wash her face, and brush her teeth.

She was pulling on her shoes when the door opened a crack. "You decent?" 

"No." She said flatly, and Michael shoved the door open the rest of the way.

"Bad liar. Come on."

"No, just go away Michael." Maria sighed, looking at him. She wasn't ready to go to school.

Michael walked in and sat down on the edge of her bed beside her. "Either you come with me, or I'm staying here with you all day."

"Why are you doing this?" She asked softly.

"You remember the orphanage?" Michael asked and looked at her. Maria rolled her eyes. "Well, you remember, back then, we were friends."

"No we weren't." She scoffed queitly.

He looked at her, actually a little hurt by her words. "I thought we were. I care about you Maria. I have thought of you as a friend even though we haven't talked in... nearly ten years. You're hurt. I know that. Look, I'm not good with the words." He sighed. "I care. And if you don't come willingly with me, I will throw you over my shoulder and drag you out of here."

"You wouldn't..." He raised an eyebrow at her, and she sighed. "Fine. Lets go."

Maria was standing in front of Liz's locker. She felt sick. Someone had put up a big picture of Liz's smiling face on the locker. And random students were walking by, putting down flowers. Crying. They didn't know her. They had no right to do that. She could feel the anger building inside of her. "These people, they don't know her. They don't have any right to be crying like this. They didn't know her middle name. They didn't know that her favorite movie was Dirty Dancing."

"Maria." Michael's voice came out soft, and near her ear. She spun around and looked up at him, fresh tears shinning in her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her. One curled around her waist, the other gently rubbing the back of her neck, trying to calm her down. "Shh." He whispered against the top of her head.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and clung to him, like a lifeline. He was there, flesh and blood, holding her. She needed that. She needed someone to touch her. To tell her things would be alright, even if, right now, she felt like they would never be okay again.

"Ms. DeLuca."

That voice made Maria's whole body tremble. She felt Michael's arms tighten around her, and slowly turned her head, and saw Jim Valenti standing there, mirrored sunglasses on, even though they were indoors.

"You're a hard girl to find."

"Not that hard, I've been at home."

"I'm referring to the fact that you ran away from the scene of a crime."

Maria felt Michael hug her tighter against him. "I'm sorry, but my best friend had just bled to death in my arms. All I could think about was telling our other best friend before he found out on the news or something. I wasn't exactly thinking." She snarled.

"I have some questions for you, I already talked to your mother, she said it was okay." Maria didn't move. "You should get to class Michael."

She looked up at him. A moment of panic written across her face. She didn't want to be alone with the Sheriff. He'd haunted her dreams since she was a kid. Everyone knew that his father was alien obsessed and had eventually lost his job because of it.

"I'll see you in bio." He touched the side of her face, and dropped a kiss against her forehead, before releasing her and walking down the hall.

Maria took a breath and looked at the Sheriff. "Alright, what do you have to ask me?"

"I'll need a description of the men, of your own actions, prior and after the shooting."

"Look, I don't remember the guys that well. They were... a little older, a little on the heavy set side, they were arguing about money. One pulled a gun. Everyone ducked. I heard the guys run out, and I went to look for Liz, and found her laying on the floor, bleeding to death. And there was nothing I could do about it. I put pressure on the wound like I was supposed to, like they always tell you to. But it wasn't enough, I couldn't do anything!" Tears were building up behind her eyes, and she was growing more and more angry by the second. "She died. My best friend died. The EMTs pulled me away from her, and I freaked out.

All that blood..." Maria shook her head. "I took off, I went and found my friend, Alex, and told him what happened, and he took me home, where we sat on the couch crying until my mother got home. And that is where I spent the better part of the last three days. At home. Crying. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm late for class."

Angrily Maria walked away. That asshole. How dare he question her like that. She stormed down the hallway away from him, turned the corner, and slid down the closest wall. Tears were pouring down her cheeks, and she doubled over herself. The halls were empty, everyone was in class. So she sat there and cried. Sobbed. Full body, convulsive sobs.

The bell rang suddenly, and Maria launched herself off the floor and lunged through the closest door. She pulled the door shut and sighed, quickly wiping the tears from her face. She glanced around and realized she'd successfully dove into the eraser room. The most notorious place at the school. Maria sunk down to the floor against the far wall and sighed softly, while wiping away her tears.

A moment later the door handle jiggled. She held her breath. Shit. She didn't lock it. Probably some couple sneaking in to make out between classes. Light filled the room for a second, then the door closed.

"Hey."

Michael. Maria let out the breath she had been holding. "Hey."

"You never showed up in class."

"Yeah." Maria hung her head and avoided his eyes as he came to sit next to her.

"What happened with Valenti?"

"Nothing... he asked me questions, and I got bitchy, yelled at him, and left." Michael looked at her and noticed the wetness on her cheeks and sighed inwardly.

"Come here." He murmured and carefully pulled her into his arms. She went willingly, her head against his shoulder, as his arms curled around her body. He remembered comforting Tess after her mom died. But it was completely different. Tess was his best friend, he loved her. She had been his best friend since his first day of Kindergarten.

But Maria... He stroked his fingers gently through her hair. It was different. "I know you don't believe me, but things will be okay." He whispered softly. Ever so slowly she began to relax. He continued to brush his fingers through her hair, down her back, and up again. Over and over. He heard the bell for class ring. Neither of them moved.

-

Jim Valenti knocked on the door of the DeLuca residence. A moment later the door opened, and he pulled off his cowboy hat. "Ms. DeLuca."

"Sheriff." She yelped, then scowled a little. "Can I help you?"

"I just wanted to talk to you."

"About?"

"Maria."

"She's upset. Her best friend died. Just give her a break Sheriff."

"Have you noticed anything else going on with her lately?"

Amy's brow furrowed. "What do you mean? What are you implying? Do you know something?"

"No... no. Several weeks ago, though, I did find her out in the desert."

"What do you mean?"

"She was out, just wandering."

"Near where they found her, right?" Jim nodded. "She told me she goes out there sometimes. She's curious. Her birth parents just abandoned her. She was lucky to survive. You know that. If you hadn't have found her, and Alex and Liz... they would have all died. Part of her wants to know who her birth parents were. Why they would just leave her." Amy sighed and walked back into the house, to pick up the basket of laundry.

Jim followed her. "She is a good girl, Jim. Especially considering what she has been through."

"It isn't safe for her to go wandering out there."

"I know." Amy sighed and picked up Maria's blood soaked uniform. "Keep an eye on her for me, Jim? Please. I worry about her. And now that Liz... I'm just worried. I can't loose my daughter."

"Don't worry, Amy. I'll keep an eye on her."

"How are you Jim?" Amy asked, crumpling the uniform in her hands. "And Tess?"

"Tess is what keeps me going." He sighed, and noticed the uniform. "Is that Maria's?"

"It is... I found it under her bed. I don't think it'll wash off, so I was just going to throw it away."

"Well, I should be going." He said suddenly. "I can throw it away outside on my way out."

"Would you?" Amy asked, and extended the uniform towards him. "Thank you."

Jim took the uniform and tipped his hat before walking to the door. "It was good to see you again, Amy." He told her, and disappeared outside. He headed for his SUV, staring down at the blood drenched uniform. There was no way that all that blood was from Liz. From what he'd gotten from the witnesses, Maria had been sitting next to Liz as she pressed her hand against the wound.

He drove back to the station quickly and threw the uniform out across his desk, looking over it. He could see smudges, Maria's hand prints near the bottom, obviously where she had wiped her hands. But right where her stomach would have been, was soaked, caked. Covered in blood. He narrowed his eyes and flipped through the Rolodex on his desk. He found the number he'd been looking for and dialed it quickly.

"It's Jim Valenti... I may have something for you."

-

The bell signaling that class was over rang, and neither moved. Michael just kept stroking her back. Slowly Maria tilted her head back and looked up at him. She felt better. Calmer. Maybe things would be okay. Maybe Valenti wasn't suspicious. "Michael, I just want to..." She trailed off as his hand came up to cup the side of her face. She could feel his warm breath on her face, and her eyes slid shut. Maria could feel him getting closer. She could feel his lips, hovering just barely away from hers. Another second and they would be pressed against hers.

The moment drew out like an eternity. They were so close.

"Maria." Michael and Maria jumped apart and looked towards the now open door.

"Alex?" She asked confused.

"We're late for class. Come on." She looked at Michael and then nodded and stood up slowly and followed Alex out of the eraser room.

"Is there a reason you didn't return my ... forty-seven calls?" She asked as they walked down the hall.

"Yeah. I was trying to deal... and a few days before... before Liz was...." Alex couldn't bring himself to say it. He just couldn't. "She had been working at the Crashdown, it was empty, almost closing, she was screwing around with her... ya know?" He wiggled his fingers. Liz had been careless. She'd been careless repeatedly, but this time... He sighed quietly. "Valenti walked into the diner. She had a CD playing on the counter, and well, she didn't tell me all the details, just that Valenti saw her using them."

"Valenti knows?!" Maria hissed quietly. Her heart lunged into her throat. "Oh god... oh god, oh god... oh god!"

"Maria, calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down Alex." She hissed angrily. "You knew this... and neither one of you told me?! How... how could you?! I am part of this! I [i]am[/i] this! And neither one of you thought it was something I needed to know!?" Her voice was quiet, but Alex could hear the venom in it.

"Maria-"

"Go to hell Alex." She ground out. Maria spun around angrily. She could practically feel the blood boiling in her veins. Valenti knew. He knew. And they didn't tell her. She took off down the hallway, and bolted around the corner. A second later she found herself on her back, staring up at the ceiling.

"Oh, are you okay?" A voice asked, and Maria looked up and saw Kyle Harding standing over her. "Sorry, I wasn't paying any attention to where I was going." He extended his hand towards her and she didn't move for a second before taking his hand.

"Thanks... and I'm sorry too. I wasn't really paying any attention either." She fixed her hair, and picked up her book bag again.

"Sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." Maria nodded. "Thanks." She said before disappearing down the hallway. Kyle continued to stand there, and watch her leave.

"Where are you going?" Maria glanced over her shoulder and saw Michael jogging to catch up to her.

"Home."

"Why?"

"Because I'm sick of being here!" She hissed. He caught up with her and was just walking beside her. She shot him a dirty look. "What do you want?"

"Nothing. Just keeping you company."

"Maybe I don't want any."

"Like I said before, you're a bad liar." Maria stopped walking and looked at Michael. She was tired, her emotions were tired. She wanted everything to be okay. She didn't want Liz to be dead. She didn't want to believe that they had kept something from her.

"Walk me home?" Her voice came out quiet. Michael nodded and took her book bag from her and slid his arm around her shoulders.

Gratefully Maria leaned into his side. There was a strength behind Michael that made her feel better. Calm. She remembered she felt the same way around him years ago at the orphanage. When he had stood up for her. When she had sat down as close to him as possible, touching from shoulder to foot, and laid her head on his shoulder. She felt calm.

They walked in silence to her house and she sighed as the reached the doorstep. "Walk you to school tomorrow?" Michael offered and Maria paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Sure, I'll see you in the morning." Maria said before walking inside.

"You're home early." Amy said as she walked back into the living room.

"People were pissing me off." Maria told her mom and then walked down the hall to her bedroom. She threw her bag on the floor and fell back onto her bed. She stared up at the ceiling for a long time before rolling over. She lifted up the blankets near the edge of her foot and looked for her uniform. Her plan was the burn it. That was the only thing she could do.

"Oh shit." She exclaimed and somehow flipped over, and fell off her bed. Maria dove under her bed and stared. It was gone. "Mom!" Maria screeched and jumped up and ran down the hallway.

"What Maria?" Amy asked a little confused. She was in the kitchen, baking pies. Jeff Parker had called early. The funeral was in a few days, and afterwards they would be having a get together, and he'd asked her to make some things to eat.

"Where is my uniform?" Maria burst into the kitchen.

"You left it on the floor, by your bed."

"No. The other one." Maria hissed. "The one I wore..."

"Oh, sweetie, there was no way the blood would come out, so I threw it out."

"Where is it."

"Probably out in the garbage out front." Maria took off through the house and ran out the front door. She threw open the garbage can, and stared into it. Her uniform wasn't there. It was gone. "Mom!" Maria ran back inside and into the kitchen. "It isn't there!"

"Sweetie..." Amy shook her head. "Why do you want it?"

"I just..." Maria sighed.

"Maria, Jim probably threw it out someplace else."

"Jim." Maria stared at her mother in shock. She watched the blush creep up her mom's neck and over her face.

"The Sheriff was here earlier, he's worried about you."

"I'm sure." Maria shook her head. "He has my uniform?"

"He said he would throw it away for me." Amy abandoned her bowl of pie crust. "Talk to me. Tell me what is wrong."

Maria shook her head. "I've...gotta go." Angrily she stormed out of the house. Valenti had her uniform. She was as good as dead. As good as sliced open on a table, while they poked and prodded her insides. And for once in her life, she couldn't go to Alex. The thought made her heart sink. She lost both of her best friends.

She wrapped her arms around herself as she quickly walked down the sidewalk. It was later than she realized, and the sun had already begun to set. The temperature had dropped considerably. Maria quickened her pace.

She found herself in front of Michael's house and chewed on her lip. At least, she thought it was his house. She knew he moved around a lot, bounced from home to home. She walked up and knocked lightly on the door.

The door opened, and a short woman, with frizzy red hair, holding a half asleep infant opened the door. "Hi, can I help you?"

"I was... looking for Michael... is he... do I even have the right house?" She suddenly felt embarrassed. She wasn't even sure if it was the right house.

"Sure." The woman smiled, and stepped back. "Michael." She called softly, and he appeared after a second.

"Maria... you okay?" Something was off. She just seemed, worse than before. He stepped out onto the front porch and closed the door. "What is it."

"Valenti has my uniform." She told him softly.

"Okay..."

"I have to get it back."

"Maria, what do you... what are you talking about?" Michael was confused. "What happened?"

"He has my uniform, and I have to get it back. You don't understand Michael..."

"Then make me understand."

"I can't." Her voice cracked. "Please, if you help me, I swear, I will tell you everything, just please."

"Okay." Michael nodded. "Okay, Maria, I'll help you." He told her and stepped forward. His hand gently caught her arm and he pulled her closer. "It'll be okay." Willingly she leaned into his chest, and let her eyes slip shut.

"Thank you." Relief was flowing through her veins. "Thank you


	3. Chapter 3

**Book One: Trials and Tribulations:Chapter Three**

"I can't believe I am doing this." Isabel Evans muttered from passenger seat of the jeep. Michael sat beside her, and the weird DeLuca girl was in the back seat, staring off at nothing. Isabel rolled her eyes. "Michael-"

"Just, do this for me. Distract him."

"Why." Isabel hissed.

"Don't ask questions." Michael told her as he pulled the jeep to a stop at the side of the road about a block from the sheriff's station. "Maria and I will walk from here."

"What am I supposed to say to him?" Isabel asked, annoyed. She was completely out of the loop and she wanted to know what was going on.

"Tess' birthday is coming up, ask if he has any ideas about what to get her." Michael suggested, and took Maria's hand and helped her out of the jeep.

The move caught Isabel off guard. She stared for a moment after them. Michael never was a gentleman for anyone. "You know, he probably doesn't even realize it's almost her birthday."

"Then it's a good way to remind him." Michael snaked his arm around Maria's shoulders and headed in the direction of the Station.

Isabel stared after them for a long moment before sighing and driving the short distance to the Sheriff's Station. The Sheriff had always sort of weirded her out. Even though she had known him since childhood. She pulled the jeep to a stop near the front door and climbed out. Sure enough, the Sheriff was standing just inside talking to one of the deputies.

"Sheriff." Isabel cleared her throat as she walked in.

"Isabel... something wrong?" She heard the hint of panic in his voice.

"No... no, nothing is wrong. I just... With Tess' birthday coming up, I was trying to come up with something to do for her." Realization crossed his face. Isabel knew he had forgotten. "I was thinking, there is a concert in Albuquerque, the day after her birthday, I know she would love to go, and I could get tickets... I just wanted to make sure it would be okay with you if we went to it."

"What concert?"

"The Foo Fighters." Jim sighed softly. He knew Tess would love to go.

"I suppose... Are Michael and Max going to go with you two?"

"Not sure yet. Hadn't really talked it over with them, until I got the okay from you."

"If they will go, then, I suppose it would be alright."

Michael and Maria stared at the locked back door, wearing similar frowns. "We'll never get through that door." Michael commented.

"Sure we will." Maria pulled a bobbypin out of her hair and knelt down in front of the lock.

"No way, you cannot..." Michael shook his head and glanced around. When he looked back Maria was standing up and pulling open the door. "How the hell...?" He hissed quietly.

"Michael... think about who I have for a mother... more than once have we had to break into our own house because we lost the keys." Maria offered as an explanation. Which, was completely true. But Maria didn't know how to actually pick a lock. She had always used her powers.

He stared at her, a little dumbfounded for a few seconds before quickly following her inside. The ducked down the hallway and hurried up the stairs towards the Sheriff's office. Maria pulled the same move, pretending to pick the lock with her hair pin, while she used her powers to nudge open the lock.

Once inside, with the door closed tight behind them, they began to frantically search. But to no avail. Maria angrily ran her hands through her hair. Maybe he had it at his house. Maybe he never brought it to his office. Maybe he really did throw it away. She rested her hand on the desk, a flash of the Sheriff leaning over her bloody uniform hit her and she nearly gasped. Him on the phone. Valenti sticking her uniform in a paper bag.

"Maria." Michael whispered.

It was only then that Maria realized she was on her hands and knees. The cup that had been sitting on the desk full of pens now scattered across the floor. Quickly they grabbed the pens and shoved them back in the cup and slammed it on the desk. "Are you okay?" Michael whispered, touching her face. She was pale. She looked ill.

"No... we have to get out of here." She whispered. They both froze. A shadow was cast against the door. Michael grabbed her arm and yanked her into the small closet, and closed the door just in time. The office door flew open. Sheriff Valenti stood there, Isabel, and Deputy Hanson right behind him.

Maria pressed closer to Michael. She clenched her eyes shut. They would be found. Maria knew it. She held her breath, and felt Michael's hands curl around her waist, clutching her to his body. Her face was buried in his chest, she could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

"Sheriff?" Deputy Hanson asked from the doorway.

Sheriff Valenti crossed the room, checked the window, encased with metal bars. He knew that he had heard something. He looked at his desk and frowned. The cup holding various pens was spun around backwards. His frown deepened.

"Daddy?" Tess' voice called from somewhere far away. A second later the three left the office, locking the door behind them.

"What are you doing here Tess?" Jim asked looking at his daughter.

Her expression was a confused one at seeing Isabel. "I brought you some dinner..." She held up the plastic container.

Maria finally let out the breath she had been holding when the door closed. But she was too afraid to move yet. Michael's fingers were rubbing ever so gently against her hip. Soothing her. "We should get out of here." He whispered against the top of her head after several long moments. Maria nodded and pushed open the door quietly.

Silently, they made there escape out of the Sheriff's station, and jogged down the street, putting as much distance between them, and it, as possible.

"So..." Michael started, as they began walking towards her house. "Tell me why we just did that."

Maria glanced at him, then bit her lip.

"Why would the Sheriff have your uniform? And why was it so important to get it back?" She didn't respond. "Maria, you said you would tell me."

"I know I did... but I can't."

"Maria!" He exclaimed, angry. "Do you realize what I just risked by doing that for you? Helping you break into the Sheriff's office."

"I know! I'm sorry!" She looked up at him, tears shinning in her eyes. "But, I can't."

They were now standing outside of her house, and Michael was staring at her in shock. "Wow." He whispered. "Next time you get the urge to ask me for a favor... don't." Michael shook his head and stormed off down the street.

Maria stood there, watching him walk away, until she couldn't see him anymore. She swallowed hard. She wanted to tell him. She really did. But she was afraid. Afraid of how he would react. Afraid that he would go running to the Sheriff and tell him everything. She quickly walked inside, and silently slunk down to her bedroom. Maria quickly changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed.

As Michael walked towards the Pascal's house he spotted Isabel sitting in the jeep a few houses down. He jogged towards her and sighed at the look on her face. "What the hell is going on Michael!?" She hissed. "What were you two thinking?!"

"She asked for a favor... I don't know what I was thinking." Michael ran his hands through his hair.

"I know you like her Michael, but... I really think it would be a good idea to stay away from her. This whole thing with Liz, I think really messed her up."

"Yeah." He nodded. "Get home safe okay? I had better get in, before the Pascals send out a search party." He gave her a half hug, before stepping back and walking into the house.

"Michael? Is that you?" He heard Mrs. Pascal.

"Yes, Mrs. Pascal."

"Next time you're going to be out late, please call, and let us know?" She asked, and offered him a smile.

"Sure." Michael stood frozen for a moment. She wasn't going to threaten to send him away if he ever did it again?

"It's getting late Michael, you've got school in the morning. Try to be quiet, Dylan is already asleep."

Michael nodded and walked down to the room he shared with Dylan and glanced at the sleeping kid. "Did you get in trouble?" Michael looked at Dylan again and saw he had one eye cracked open.

"Go to sleep kid."

"Did she yell at you."

"Dylan, you're supposed to be asleep, so shut up, and close your eyes, before she comes in here, breathing fire."

Dylan laughed quietly. "Yeah right." He smirked.

"Go To Sleep." Michael barked.

Early Saturday morning, Maria climbed out of bed, and took a shower. She was moving at a snails pace. The funeral was in a few hours. Part of her wanted to run as far from Roswell as possible. Not go to the funeral. Hide under the covers and forget all about it. She stared into her closet. There was a new dress hanging there. Her mother had bought it a few days earlier for her.

Maria rarely ever wore black. Her wardrobe was full of brightly colored clothes. Fun things. Nothing appropriate for a funeral.

An hour or so later Maria was dressed, and ready to go. "Maria, honey?" Amy called from the other side of the door. Maria sighed and opened the door.

"Yeah?"

"Are you ready?"

Maria shook her head."To bury my best friend. No." Amy snaked her arm around Maria's shoulders and hugged her close.

"I know, sweetie."

At the church Maria looked around. She'd only been to a church a few times in her life. Her grandfather's funeral when she was seven. A distant cousin's wedding when she was ten. And now. She was standing just outside the door. Staring at the large wooden doors. Amy had already walked inside, to see if there was anything she could do. Leaving Maria standing on the outside.

She couldn't go in there. Her best friend was in there. Lying in a cold wooden box. Dead. Gone.

"Maria?" She lifted her head and saw Mrs. Parker standing there, looking distraught. Torn apart. Her hair was combed, but still a mess. She wore no makeup and looked older than Maria had ever seen her. Suddenly without warning Mrs. Parker stepped forward and hugged Maria tightly. "She loved you. You were her best friend." She sobbed.

"Nancy!" Jeff Parker came jogging up the stairs and gently pulled Nancy away from Maria. He gave Maria a sympathetic look and ushered Nancy inside. But he lingered in the doorway with Maria. "We would... appreciate it if you would ... would sing."

Maria's mouth opened, but no sound came out. "Please." He whispered, before walking inside. She couldn't. She couldn't sing. Not now. She wrapped her arms around herself and then slowly made her way inside. She saw Mr and Mrs Whitman, talking quietly to her mom and the Parkers. Alex was standing there, on the other side of the church.

She didn't move. People began to show up. Liz's family members. So called friends from school. She found her seat beside her mom and listened silently, while people got up and spoke. At some point she tuned them all out, and only realized they were all staring at her, when her mother elbowed her gently. Maria jerked forward and then took a deep breath and walked forward.

She stood before the small crowd and opened her mouth, then closed it again. "Mr and Mrs Parker asked me to sing, and I'm sorry, but, I can't. Liz was my best friend. My earliest memories are of her. She was this smart person. Everyones friend, you couldn't not like her. And she was taken away from us. On her way to be Valedictorian, top in our graduating class, go off to Stanford, or Harvard, Northwestern. Someplace, where she was going to be this amazing person, who would change the world." Maria choked on a sob. "She was my best friend." Her voice came out a whisper, and she took off running through the church and burst out the front door. She collapsed to her knees in the grass in front of the church.

Maria couldn't breathe. She felt like her chest was caving in. Her head was pounding. All she wanted to do was scream. And scream and never stop. A hand gently touched the back of her head, and Maria tilted her head up to look at who had come.

It was the last person she had expected to see. "You okay?" Michael asked, and she shook her head.

"Can we... just get out of here? Please, Michael." He held his hand out to her, and she took it gratefully, and he pulled her to her feet, and they walked towards the parking lot. Maria had a fleeting thought of her mother, and how she would get home. But at the same time, she didn't care.

Alex stood in the doorway, at a loss for words as Maria walked away with Michael. He narrowed his eyes slightly, before turning and walking back inside.

"Where are we going?" Michael asked as Maria drove down a back road towards the bottomless lakes.

"I don't know." She told him. "But, I just, need to get away, but it probably isn't a good idea for me to be alone right now."

"Okay."

"I want to tell you the truth Michael, I really do. But, I can't."

"Why not?"

"It isn't that easy. It's this... really huge thing, and... more than just my life is at stake."

"Lives are at stake?! What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Me, and Alex... Liz..."

"Are you high?" Michael looked at her incrediously.

Maria turned her head and looked at him, her mouth hanging open. She stared at him. "How could you ask-"

"Maria, look out!" He yelled, and Maria jerked her head back to the road. A dog. A sudden curve in the road.

"Shit!" She screamed, and slammed on the breaks, and tried to take the turn, and not hit the dog. The car went skidding off the road. Where it rolled down a short embankment.

"Damn it, Maria." Michael groaned. He rubbed his forehead, and felt something sticky there. He blinked several times and then turned his head to look at her. Draped over the steering wheel. Not moving. "Maria?!" He yelled, suddenly panicked. He leaned forward and groaned as the seat belt restrained him. He quickly unlatched it, and pushed hair back from her face. "Wake up, Maria!" He cupped her face. Blood dripped from her lips. He found her purse sitting on the floor near his feet, and pulled it open and quickly found her phone.

Instantly he called 9-1-1. His voice was panicked. He was afraid. Terrified. Afraid that something serious was wrong with her.

While he waited for the ambulance he spoke to Maria, reassuring her. Telling her she would be fine. All the while, hoping and praying that she would just wake up. The ambulance came, and loaded her in, one of the EMTs worked on her, checking her vitals while the other bandaged Michael's forehead.

It wasn't long before they were at the hospital. Michael was standing, forlorn in the waiting room. A moment later a screaming Amy Deluca burst in. "What the hell is going on?! Where is my daughter!" Her eyes fixed on Michael. He actually was afraid for his life. "What did you do!"

"She said she needed to get away!" He backed away in fear. "She wanted to go for a drive. There was a dog, and a corner. She swerved..." Amy didn't have a chance to respond.

A doctor walked in. "She's awake." He said before ushering Amy down the hallway, leaving Michael and Alex staring at each other.

"Stay away from her." Alex stated.

"Screw you Whitman." Michael growled. "Where the hell have you been when Maria needed you for the last week?"

"You wouldn't understand." Alex snapped back. "Just stay the hell away from her."

"I'd like to see you try and make me." Michael closed in on Alex. He towered over Alex by a few inches, and out weighed him by a few pounds. Michael knew he could squash Alex if he really wanted to. But Alex didn't look the least bit intimidated.

"You have no idea." Alex glared and then turned around and walked out of the waiting room. When he reached Maria's room, Amy was leaning down close to her daughter. Crying softly. He felt a pang in his chest. He could have lost Maria too.

"You're okay, baby." Amy cried, leaning down to kiss Maria's forehead.

"I bit my tongue...I'm sorry mom." She whispered.

"Just be more careful. Please, Maria." Amy begged quietly, stroking her hair back from her face.

"Okay." She told her mom quietly. "Could you go see when I can go home... I really want to just go home."

Amy nodded and quickly left, leaving Maria alone with Alex.

"Hey, Mars." Alex said quietly.

"They drew blood Alex." Maria whispered, and tears filled her eyes. "They drew blood, and they are going to test it, and they are going to find something..."

"What?" Alex moved closer and noticed the bandage on her arm. "Oh god..." He touched her cheek, healing the cut on her tongue. "I'll go find out where it is, I'll get rid of it."

"They'll draw more."

Alex stood there. "I don't know what to do Maria..." He told her.

"We have to do something. They can't run any tests... Valenti already has my uniform."

Alex paled. "What? How....?"

"I don't know. Mic- ..." Maria cut herself off. If anyone over heard, she didn't want Michael getting into any trouble. "I broke in, and tried to find it. But... it was gone." She hushed her voice even more. "I got a flash. Him on the phone with someone...I think it was some government guy, he put my uniform in some paper bag..."

Alex was completely white.

"What the hell are you two up to?" Michael hissed, walking into Maria's room.

Maria sat up quickly, ignoring the ache in her body. "Nothing that concerns you, Michael."

"What are you going to break into this time? What are you looking to steal?"

Alex narrowed his eyes. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I heard everything you said. It really is drugs, isn't it?" Michael shook his head.

Maria opened her mouth, but Alex spoke before she could say anything. "Yeah." Maria looked at him quickly.

"Alex!" She hissed.

"He already knows, Maria."

She stared at the two men, then threw back the covers and climbed out of the bed. "Where are you going?" Alex asked. She grabbed her dress and walked into the bathroom. She changed quickly, and walked back out.

"I am not on drugs." She snarled at Alex. "I'm going home." Maria grabbed her purse and walked out of her room.

"Maria? What are you doing?" Amy asked. "The doctor wants to keep you over night."

"I want to go home." Maria said and then walked past her.

"What just happened?" Amy asked, looking at the two boys staring after her daughter.

"I'm not sure." Michael sighed.

Amy followed after her daughter quickly. Alex looked at Michael for a second and then he walked out of the room, leaving Michael alone. He stood there for a long time, then grabbed his phone out of his pocket and called the first person he thought of. "Tess, could you do me... a huge favor." He sighed softly.

"Why am I doing this?" Tess hissed at Michael. They were locked in a supply closet in the Hospital.

"I don't know." He sighed, and grabbed her arm gently.

"Michael..." She eyed the needle in his hand. "I don't understand... why is Maria so afraid of them running tests on her blood?"

"I don't know. She wouldn't tell me." Michael laid the needle against her arm.

"You know I hate needles." She flinched slightly.

"I know, and I'm sorry." He heard her whimper when the needle punctured her skin. The small tube filled with blood, and he pulled back. A tear had rolled down Tess' face.

"What are you protecting her from?" She asked, crying quietly.

"I don't know... but whatever it is, it's serious."

"And you just get me involved!" Tess hissed. "I really hope to hell she is worth it."

"Tess-"

"Screw you." She rushed out of the closet before he could do anything.

Silently, Michael crept around the side of the house. He found her window and peeked inside. She was sitting on her bed. Shoulders hunched forward. He knocked softly. She jumped and fell off the bed.

Maria jerked her head up and stared at Michael in shock. She climbed to her feet and closed the distance between her and the window and yanked it open. "What are you doing here?"

Michael looked up at her, he could see the tears shining in her eyes. "I needed to talk to you."

"About what?" She asked and wiped away a stray tear that rolled down her cheek.

"You need to tell me what is going on."

"I can't."

"That is bullshit." Michael growled.

"You don't understand, Michael. It's... Not just my secret. Alex, Liz..." Maria clenched her eyes shut tightly.

"Maria, you have to tell me." Tears were rolling down her cheeks again.

"I want to... I want to tell you the truth so badly..." Michael reached through the window and grabbed a hold of her hand.

"Please, Maria. I switched out the blood. Your blood."

"What?" Her eyes went wide.

"I called Tess, after you guys left, I switched your blood, and if I did that, just because you were on something... I need to know."

"I'm not, I swear, Michael. I would never..." She shook her head. Alex would kill her for this. Maria pulled her hand back, shoved her feet into her shoes, grabbed a sweatshirt out of the half packed suitcase sitting on her bed, and hurried to the window.

"You're... packing?"

"I'll explain everything, but, I can't do it here." She tugged the sweatshirt over her head and started walking away from the house with Michael. "You know how they found us, wandering in the desert?"

"Yeah." Michael nodded.

"Seven years old... no birth records, can't even speak. Covered in weird slime?" Maria glanced at Michael who was looking at her curiously. "We're not human." Michael froze. Maria took a breath and turned to face him. "I'm not human, I know I look like it... but I have these abilities..." She paused. But hers were never really anything good. Not like Alex, not like Liz. "Well, Alex and Liz have better ones... Liz, she could heal things...that is what happened when she got shot. I was trying to help her. The hole in my stomach," Maria raised her shirt faintly. The scar of the hole was still there. Exactly where Liz had been shot. "I couldn't help her, I couldn't heal like she did. But I guess I somehow transferred the wound to myself when I tried to help heal her."

"I don't believe it." Michael whispered.

"What kind of proof do you want, Michael? You know I didn't get shot. But you saw, just seconds later, a hole in my stomach, oozing with blood. I know that it is really hard to believe... but it is true. And it really is one of those life threatening secrets. If anyone finds out... the wrong person... Alex and I are dead. And already, someone in the FBI has my uniform."

"FBI?"

"When we broke into Valenti's office, I got a flash... I saw him talking to some FBI agent, on the phone."

"Saw it? Flashes? What are you talking about?"

"That is one of the things we all do... in an intense situation, it's like a residual flash or what happened. Not sure why, or how..." Michael grabbed Maria's hand. He wasn't sure why, and he still wasn't sure if he believed her either.

Until the images filled his head. Maria, about seven years old, climbing out of some pod looking thing. Covered in slimy goop. Wandering in the desert, clutching Liz and Alex's hands. Headlights. Sheriff Valenti, looking younger than Michael had ever seen. Maria, curled up tightly in a ball while two boys picked on her. Michael saw himself, beating up the two boys. A Crayola colored fantasy, Michael dressed as a knight, Maria as a princess, and a horrible dragon, getting his ass slayed.

Michael pulled his hand back and stared at her in shock. "What?" Maria asked quietly, confused.

"I just ..." Michael wasn't quite sure what that was. Those flashes she was talking about. But how was he able to see them? Intense emotions? She had tears in her eyes again. "I'll walk you home." He told her softly.

"You don't believe me, do you?" She asked as they reached her block.

"I... don't know."

"You have to promise me, Michael, that you won't tell anyone. Please. If anyone finds out..."

"I won't." He reassured her, and watched as she nodded and walked between the fence, and the house, around to her window.


	4. Chapter 4

**Book One: Trials and Tribulations: Chapter Four**

Jim Valenti sat in his office at home, staring at the results of Elizabeth Claudia Parker's autopsy. A silver hand print had been found over the wound. A strange pattern around the entry of the bullet. As if the skin had already began to heal, instantly, after she had been shot. And then her blood. Completely abnormal. A genetic anomaly is what they called it.

Jim knew better. Something was going on. That silver hand print. He had seen that before. He glanced at the framed picture on his desk, of his wife, and daughter, smiling brightly for the camera. His wife. He remembered that day so clearly in his mind. They had taken a few days off, and they were going to go out of town. Tess was happily in the back seat, humming a little song to herself.

They had only been on the road for an hour or so. Tess had demanded they stop, so he pulled off at some little rest area. Tess and Michelle had wandered off, along a little path, hand in hand. Jim leaned against the car and smiled as they drifted out of sight. Seconds later he heard a scream. He took off running towards the path where Michelle and Tess had just gone. Tess was running towards him, screaming at the top of her lungs, Michelle was laying prone on the grass. "Michelle?!" Jim yelled. He grabbed Tess in his arms, and ran back the short distance to where his wife lay. He set Tess down quickly and then rolled Michelle onto her back. Her eyes were open, and vacant. Her lips parted. She was dead. In that split second that they had gone from his view, his wife had died. How?

His daughter had clutched to him, tightly as she could, sobbing. He'd hollered for help until someone came, then ran off to call police. And he just sat there, rocking Tess, trying to calm her, while he stared at Michelle's lifeless face.

Tess had always said she didn't remember what happened that day. She just remembered running away screaming. Maybe she didn't see anything. Maybe she blocked it from her memory. But Jim was suspicious it was something more malicious. Whoever killed Michelle had taken the memory from Tess.

The silver hand print had been directly over Michelle's heart. They said whatever happened, it stopped instantly. No one could explain the hand print.

And now, there was another picture, another hand print.

"Maria,"

"No mom." Maria curled up tighter into a ball.

"Maria, you've been waiting for this for months."

"And now I'm not."

Amy sighed and stared at her daughter. "You've always loved going. You've had your costume ready-"

"I loved going with Liz." Maria told her.

"Call Alex, he'd love to go with you."

"No." Maria said and yanked the blankets up over her head.

"That is your costume?" Isabel rolled her eyes as Michael jumped into the back of the jeep. He shrugged. Jeans a t-shirt and a leather jacket. He thought it was just fine. Nothing compared to Isabel's standout costume.

"Where is Tess?" Michael asked. He'd been hoping she would come. He knew she was still angry with him, but he wanted to talk to her.

"She said she didn't feel well." Isabel cast him a glance. Obviously, she suspected it was his fault. And, it was. Max parked the car in the large parking lot, and they all climbed out. Music was drifting from the fenced off area. People were dancing, and partying. They made their way towards the throngs of people. Isabel spotted some of her friends and disappeared. Leaving Michael and Max, standing on the outside, watching the people.

"So..." Max glanced at Michael. "You going to let me in on whats going on?"

Michael shook his head. "If I knew, I'd tell you." There was so much going on. He didn't understand half of it.

"Isabel was talking about going to Albuquerque for a concert this weekend. Tess' birthday, are you coming?"

"I am pretty sure, it's safe to say, neither one of them want me around." Michael scratched his eyebrow.

"And why is that?"

"Because..." Michael sighed. "This whole thing with Maria DeLuca."

Max's face paled slightly, the mention of Liz's best friend was like a kick in the stomach to him. "I heard something about her being on drugs." Max commented. "Must be taking Liz's death really hard."

"She isn't on drugs." Michael shook his head. Or maybe she was. Maybe he was. That would explain the flashes. Some psychedelic drug that made him hallucinate.

"She totaled her car, and you were in it. Sure she isn't on drugs?"

"We were arguing, okay?" Michael shook his head, annoyed. "We were arguing, and she looked away from the road, there was some stupid dog, and we drove off the road. What do you care anyways? You weren't in love with Maria, so what do you care what she does?"

"Because you're getting involved with her." Max told him simply.

"Just drop it." Michael told him.

Maria hadn't moved from her bed. She had her blankets pulled up over her completely, save for just part of her face. Curled up on her side, a tiny crack between the blankets allowing her to stare out the window. She couldn't believe that she told Michael the truth. He didn't believe her. And she didn't blame him. She wouldn't have believed someone if they had given her that story.

She heard her bedroom door open, and held her breath for a second. Silently willing her mother to just leave her alone. Over the last hour she had come in five times, trying to convince Maria to get dressed and go to the Crash festival. But she wouldn't. That was her tradition with Liz. They always went, and dressed up, and made fun of people. Made fun of the people that traveled there from miles away, to dress up like freaks, and recount their alien abduction stories.

She felt the edge of her bed dip. "Maria." She yanked the blankets off her head when she heard Alex's voice.

"Go to hell." She told him, then pulled them back up just as quickly.

"Come on, put on you're costume, we're going."

"Like hell we are!" She yelled yanking the blankets back down.

"Maria, please." He said simply.

Maria stared at him incredulously. "You told Michael I was on drugs!" She hissed quietly. The last thing she needed was her mother thinking she was getting high.

"It was better than telling him the truth." Maria looked away from him. "Please, Maria, if you get dressed, and come with me, I promise I will tell you everything. I'll tell you why I've been avoiding you lately, and tell you what exactly Liz was doing..."

Maria's mouth fell open a little. "How much more don't I know?"

"A lot." He sighed.

"Oh, my, god." Maria stared at him. "Alex..." How many more secrets were there between them? What had Liz done?

"Come on, we're going to the Crash Festival." Alex stood up and walked out of her bedroom, leaving Maria staring after him. After a long moment she got up and opened her closet, the bright green costume was hanging in the back. She sighed and quickly got ready. Sported her green wig, then walked out of her room.

"Oh, sweetie, that costume looks great." Amy said spying Maria walking down the hall.

"Thanks." Maria wrapped her arms around herself and then looked at Alex. "Let's go."

"So, why are we here?" Maria asked staring out at the crowd of people.

"Figured, loud music, lots of distracted people, I could actually talk to you without interruption." Alex told her as they walked around one side of the fenced area.

"So, talk." Maria told him, leaning up against the fence, watching the people.

"The FBI knew about Liz."

Maria thought she would faint. "What?!"

"You know, a few months ago, back at the beginning of summer, when Liz went to Florida to visit her aunt?"

"Yeah..."

"She screwed up... she didn't do it on purpose... there was an accident, some little girl got hit by a car." Maria's hands clamped over her mouth. "There was an accident on the other side of town at the same time. It was going to be at least twenty minutes before an ambulance would be able to make it there, Liz knew that little girl would die before it got there.

She healed the little girl. There were several witnesses, and the police showed up at her aunt's house after the fact looking for Liz. They questioned her about what happened, she tried to lie, and say that she was just putting pressure on the wound. But there was a hand print. Bright, glowing, silver."

"How do you know that the FBI knew... how could she not tell me this!? How could you?!"

"Liz didn't want you to get mad, she didn't want you to worry. I was hacking into the FBI computers. I found this file... there is this whole section of the FBI dedicated to ... possible aliens. Liz was in it."

"They have my uniform." Maria whispered.

"Now, you're in it too." Maria went completely white under her bright green makeup.

"Oh god..." They knew. They knew.

"We'll figure it out Maria, it'll be okay. I've been trying to figure out how to delete the whole thing. Send in a virus or something. It'll be okay." He tried to reassure her.

"Okay? You think it'll just be okay? They ... knew about Liz. Valenti knew about Liz. He knows about me now too, doesn't he?! They all do!" This was bad. Very, very bad. They knew what she was. Maria turned and ran down the short hill, away from Alex. She didn't know what to do. They had always sworn, if anyone ever found out, they would run. They would all go. But they didn't know about Alex, did they?

"Maria!" Alex yelled after her, and quickly followed.

Tears were in her eyes as she ran. She stumbled over a dip in the ground, and fell into someones strong arms. She quickly righted herself and found herself looking into Michael's eyes.

"What's going on?" He asked, seriously, seeing her tears, and Alex chasing her.

"Nothing, it's fine." She tried to side step him, but he grasped her arm.

"Maria."

"What's going on?" Max asked walking up.

"Nothing, Maxwell." Michael said, still looking at Maria.

"Maria." Alex finally caught up and narrowed his eyes at Michael. "We'll be going now." He reached for Maria's hand and she pulled away.

"Max, can you give me a ride home?" She asked, stepping away from both Michael and Alex.

"Maria-" Alex started.

"Sure." Max nodded. "Michael-"

"No." Maria said quickly.

They all looked at each other a little confused, then Max walked away with Maria in tow. They got to the jeep and drove for a while in silence.

"I know that you really liked her." Maria finally spoke. Surprise was written across Max's face. He thought he hid it so well. "She didn't know, though. But, she did like you too. We used to... have a sleep over, pretty much every week, and eat ice cream, and talk about boys. And you were always her favorite subject. I tried to get her to talk to you, about something other than school. But she was too nervous. She didn't think that you could like her." Maria sighed softly. "I'm sorry."

"Thanks." Max told her quietly. "I wish that... I would have had a chance before..." He pulled the jeep to a stop in front of Maria's house. "Look, I know that something is going on. I don't know what, but I know it has something to do with you. Tess is avoiding Michael, Isabel is angry with him. And Michael is... not quite the same right now. I know you probably won't tell me what is going on. But my friends are falling apart, and it has something to do with whatever is going on with you right now."

Maria looked at Max. "I am sorry. I didn't mean for Michael to get involved. And I certainly didn't want Tess or Isabel involved in this either."

"Is it drugs?" He asked quietly and Maria scoffed.

"Why does every one think I am on drugs? I know I'm weird, and kooky, but... it's just who I am. It has nothing to do with drugs. But, you don't have anything to worry about. This thing... it's over now. You'll get to have your friends back." Maria quickly climbed out of the car. "Thanks for the ride." She quickly hurried inside before he could say another word.

"Did you have a good time?" Amy asked when Maria walked inside.

"No." Maria told her simply.

"Maria, I just... you can't hide in your room all the time. You have to live. Do the stuff you normally would do. I know you miss her, I miss her. She was like a daughter to me. But, life still goes on."

"I know mom." Maria sighed. "But that... it was just too soon for that." Maria gave her mom a quick hug. "I'm going to go take a shower and go to bed."

Michael and Alex shared a glare after Maria and Max left them. "So what did you say to her this time?" Michael asked, remembering the tears in Maria's eyes.

"None of your damn business." Alex snarled.

"Actually, it is."

"Look, you may think that you know what is going on, but you have nothing to do with this. It is between Maria, and myself. You're not part of this. So stay that hell away from her."

"Look, Whitman-" Michael stepped forward and grabbed Alex's arm as he started to walk away. Alex swung his fist and it landed square on the side of Michael's face, causing him to stumble. Michael swung back, and Alex tumbled backwards.

They just stared at each other for a long moment before Alex walked to his car. Michael stood near one of the gates, waiting for Max to come back. Finally he got there, and Michael and Isabel jumped in. "Do you want us to drop you off?" Max asked as they headed back into town.

"No, that's okay, I'll walk." Michael waved at him as he jumped out of the back of the jeep when they reached their house. "See ya." He said and took off down the street. He immediately headed for Tess' house. He had to talk to her. He couldn't stand to have her mad at him. When he got there, Valenti was gone. Michael was thankful. He walked up and knocked on the door and a few seconds later she pulled open the door. Then promptly slammed it in his face. "Tess!" Michael hollered.

"Go away, Michael."

"No, I need to talk to you."

Tess yanked open the door and glared at him. "What, do you need more blood?" She hissed.

"I want to explain. To tell you... everything." She stared at him for a moment then stepped back to let him in. Once the door closed Michael began to tell Maria everything he knew.

Tess stared at Michael in shock. "She's... an alien?"

"That's what she said."

"She's got to be high."

"That is what I said. That is why she ended up crashing the car." Michael raked his fingers through his hair. "I don't know whether or not to believe her.

"She's lying Michael! Don't you get it yet? She's lying. Whatever her secret really is... honestly." Tess shook her head quickly. "You should stay away from her, Michael. This is dangerous. Before long she'll get you into something really bad, and I'm afraid of what will happen." She wrapped her arms around herself and Michael sighed. 

"I know." Michael pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. "I will." He'd needed to talk to someone, get Tess' opinion. Get someone to bring him back to reality. "Did Isabel talk to you about the concert?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "You're coming, right?" He nodded. "Good." She smiled. "What happened to your face?" She asked with a deep frown.

"Whitman." Tess' frown deepened.

"Why did he hit you?" Michael just shrugged.

"I should get out of here, the Pascal's have this thing about me being home a decent hour."

Tess smiled. "It's called caring." She wrapped her arms around him again. "I am so happy for you."

"And it only took seventeen years." He shrugged and Tess kissed his cheek.

"I've always cared about you." She offered, and he nodded.

"I know. Get some sleep." Michael squeezed her before leaving and heading to the Pascal's.


	5. Chapter 5

**AURA: Book One: Trials and Tribulations: Chapter Five**

Maria was on edge. All she could think about was the FBI and Valenti. Waiting. Every time the door at the Crashdown opened, and she heard the little bell she would look up, expecting to see a man in a black suit, or Valenti bursting in to take her away. She went through the motions at work. Took the orders. Cleaned the counters. Smiled. Avoided the spot that Liz had died in. She walked around it. Stepped over it. Did her best to completely by pass it.

The grout in the tile was just a little bit darker than the rest. She found herself just staring at it some times. Just looking, imagining Liz laying there. When it was late, and she was alone, she often found herself crying, curled up behind the counter, her knees against her chest, her fists shoved against her eyes, as she bit down on her lip trying to stifle the sobs.

And that is where she was currently. Clutching her knees to her chest as she cried. The Parkers had gone out of town again, they weren't in town much, and had pretty much left running the restaurant up to Maria. She was more than happy for the distraction, but because of the added work her grades were slipping. She didn't know what to do. Her entire life was in a tailspin. The wreckage of what used to be was strewn about. Her friendships, her family. Things had been strained with her mother lately, she tried so hard to encourage Maria, to help her, but Maria was pulling away more and more. Maria knew she would break her mother's heart in the end.

And then there was Michael. Who hadn't so much as even glanced her way, all week long. Maria didn't blame him in the least, but still, it hurt. She had told him the truth. She told him everything. And he didn't believe her. She heard the bell over the door go off and quickly scrambled to her feet as she tried to wipe her tears away. "Kitchen is closed!" She hollered as she grabbed the counter to propel herself up.

Tess stood just inside the door, staring at Maria. "I need to talk to you." She said simply.

"Okay..." Maria wiped at her face again, hoping her eyes weren't bloodshot, or that Tess wouldn't notice, or even care. "About?"

"Michael." Maria's chest constricted. "He told me..." She couldn't breathe.

"Told you what?" Her voice came out strained, a whisper. Her mind was spinning. What did Michael tell her?

"Everything." Maria swore her heart stopped. Everything disappeared, except for that one word. Everything.

i_Everything_./i

Blood was rushing in her ears. Her heart was pounding in her chest. He swore he wouldn't tell anyone! Tears stung her eyes again. "What do you mean, 'everything'?"

"What you told him, about why he made me donate my blood to trade out for yours."

"Drugs?" Maria offered. That seemed the be the most popular theory.

"No." Tess narrowed her eyes. "Though, that was my first thought. I am talking about what you told him you were. An alien? How could you? How could you lie to him like that? He cares about you! And instead of giving him a straight answer you lie!"

"I am a compulsive liar." Maria told her softly.

"I realize that." Tess snapped. "Stay away from him. I don't know what it is you're actually into, I wouldn't be surprised if it was drugs or something. But I won't let you drag him down with you. You want to ruin your life, go for it. But Michael has had enough to deal with in his life, he doesn't need your drama."

Maria had always liked Tess. They were friends even as children. Their mother's were best friends. Maria loved Tess' mom. She gave the best hugs. Warm. Gentle, loving. When she hugged you, all was right in the world. But in that moment, as she stared at Tess. She hated her. "You don't have anything to worry about, Tess. I don't want anything to do with Michael anyways."

Tess looked affronted. "I can't believe you could be such a bitch." Tess whispered before turning and quickly leaving the diner.

Maria watched her go and then hurriedly locked the door and shut off all the lights. She grabbed her jacket and her purse and headed outside to her car when she remembered her mother had needed it today, going to Artesia to pick up several things, and wasn't planning on being back till tomorrow. She sighed and started walking.

It was just after nine thirty. The town was dead. It was a school night, no one was out and about save for just a few people. An old man walking his dog. A woman jogging. She tightened her jacket around her body and kicked at a stone. The pause in her step, and the silence of the night made her notice the footsteps of someone walking behind her.

Get a hold of yourself, she mentally berated herself. Someone was just out walking. But nonetheless she quickened her pace. The footsteps were still behind her. Getting closer even. She was about to break into a full run when she heard a voice. "Hey, Maria." She stopped and spun around. Kyle.

"Oh. Hi." She stared at him. They weren't friends. He was new, and seemed reasonably nice. But they weren't friends, so why was he talking to her? The only time they had spoken before was when she barreled into him in the hallway.

"What are you doing walking around this late?"

"Mom has the car. Got to get home from work somehow." They walked for a few minutes in silence, before Kyle spoke again.

"I'm sorry about your friend. I had a few classes with her. She was really nice."

"Thanks." Maria said quietly. She raked her fingers through her hair and glanced at him as they walked. They continued the rest of the way in silence. "Well, this is me." Maria said gesturing to the house as they approached it. "Thanks for walking with me."

"No problem." They just stood there, staring at each other for a long moment before Kyle stepped back. "See ya at school." He told her and turned and walked away.

Maria watched him leave and then hurried up to the door and let herself into the house.

Maria woke up early, long before her alarm was to go off. She stared at the clock for a while, then climbed out of bed. She took a quick shower and changed and then picked up her backpack. She pulled the books out, and dropped them on her bed, and started to tuck some clean clothes into her bag.

"Are you up Maria?" Amy asked from the other side of the door.

"Yeah." Maria glanced at the door, and then quickly shoved her books under her bed and zipped her bag shut. She slung her bag over her shoulder and pulled open the door.

"Oh." Amy looked at Maria. "You're all ready."

"I am falling behind in some of my classes, with working so much, so I'm going to school early, going to try and get some extra credit work done."

"Okay." Amy stroked a lock of hair behind Maria's ear and then walked back down the hall. Maria glanced back at her room and then closed the door. Maria walked down the hall after her mother and pulled open the door, getting ready to step out. "Mom."

"Yeah, baby?"

"I love you." Amy turned and smiled.

"I love you too, Maria." Maria nodded and gave her mom a small smile before stepping outside and closing the door behind her. She walked down the sidewalk, heading in the general direction of the school before cutting down a side street, and heading in the opposite direction, towards the bus station. It didn't take long at all. She purchased a ticket and sat and waited for the bus to come and take her far, far away from Roswell, New Mexico.

"Drive safe!" Jim hollered at Tess as she slung her bag over her shoulder and ran out the door towards the waiting jeep. Max and Michael were in the front seat, Isabel waved from the back.

"We will!" Tess yelled back and jumped into the jeep. "See you Sunday!" She called as they pulled away. Tess and Isabel chattered away in the front seat, while Max and Michael sat silently up front. They pulled off at a rest stop after about an hour, and Isabel ran inside to get something to drink. Michael climbed out and stretched his legs and wandered away from the car. Tess leaned forward and touched Max's arm. "Hey, you okay?"

"Sure." He nodded. Tess frowned.

"Don't lie to me." She told him. She knew Max inside and out. They had dated years ago. They had been friends since childhood.

"I'm worried."

"About what?"

"Michael." Max glanced at Tess. "This thing with Maria..."

"It's over." Tess told him. "I talked to her the other night. She said that she didn't want anything to do with him." Max and Tess looked over at Michael who was walking around the parking lot.

"I find that hard to believe." Max said and leaned back. "Something is going on..."

"It'll pass." Tess reassured him. A second later Isabel appeared beside the car, then Michael made his way back.

"We ready?" Max asked and they all nodded. "Okay." He started the jeep and they headed towards Albuquerque again.

Maria was in her own little world as she trudged down the sidewalk, she pulled her jacket tighter around her body. In the back of her head, she could hear this little voice, telling her to go home. Back to her mom. Her mom would be worried. How would the Parker's handle the diner without her?

"Sorry." She whispered when she bumped up against someone. It was late in the evening, she was contemplating where she would stay. A few seconds later she heard someone say her name. She froze and turned around slowly. Michael. He was standing about five feet away, facing her, with Max, Isabel and Tess simply staring at her.

"What are you doing here?" Michael asked.

"Nothing." She replied and turned to walk away again but he moved after her and grasped her arm.

"Maria-"

"Leave me alone, Michael." She whispered. She looked at his friends, none of them looked happy to see her. "Just... go, Michael. Be with your friends."

"Why are you here? You..." He remembered the bag she'd been packing several nights before when he'd gone to her house. "Ran away?" He kept his voice low.

"Yes, now leave me alone."

"Why are you running?"

"You told Tess." She hissed at him. "You swore to me, you wouldn't say a word to anyone, and you told her." Michael could see the tears shining in her eyes. "Fine, you don't believe me... it's still my life at stake!" She wrenched her arm from his hand and quickly disappeared down the sidewalk. He stared after her, tempted to chase her down, make her go back to Roswell. But as he glanced back towards his friends he hung his head and they continued down the sidewalk.

Amy Deluca was frantic. She was terrified. Maria was gone. She never came home from school. And after she called Jim she found out that she never went to school in the first place. She was pacing the floor of the living room. Her cellphone was close at hand, and she looked at it every few seconds making sure that it was working, she had reception, just in case Maria tried to call.

Amy had went into Maria's room, searching for any sign of her, any clue of where she might be, and found Maria's books shoved under her bed, and her phone still sitting on her nightstand. She looked up quickly hearing the front door, but her heart sank when she saw Jim. "Any word?" She asked, her voice trembling.

"No." He shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry." He watched Amy, her jaw trembled, she stopped pacing and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Where is she Jim?" Her voice cracked, and the tears began to flow again.

"We'll find her." He said, and gently pulled her into his arms and held her close. Amy went willingly and sobbed against his shoulder. Already he had been out in the desert where he had found Maria on multiple occasions. He'd been to the Whitman's to see if Alex Whitman knew anything, but the kid seemed baffled by her disappearance. "I promise, Amy. I will bring her home to you."

They stood there for a while before Jim's phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket, and looked at it, then glanced at Amy, a hopeful look on her face. He frowned and shook his head. "Tess?" He said when he answered it.

"Hi, daddy. Just calling to check in like I promised."

"Thanks." He said, and then looked at Amy as she sunk down onto the couch and began to sob again.

"Dad?" Tess asked, hearing the sounds of crying over the line. "What's going on?"

"When was the last time you saw Maria DeLuca?"

"Why?"

"She disappeared."

"She ran away." It came from Tess' mouth before she could stop it. "We ran into her in Albuquerque. After the concert we were walking back to the hotel."

"Thank you." Jim let out a sigh of relief. "You're coming home tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah."

"Drive safe."

"Love you, Daddy."

"Me too." He told her, and hung up the phone. "She is in Albuquerque."

"What?" Amy looked up quickly.

"Tess saw her earlier this evening." He dialed the station. "Hanson," he said when the young deputy picked up. "She's in Albuquerque, give a heads up to the station up there, last seen near..." Jim closed his eyes for a second, trying to remember what hotel Tess said they were staying at. "One of the hotels near the airport." He hung up and looked at Amy. She looked relieved, but still upset beyond words. "I'm driving up there now, I will bring her home."

"Thank you, Jim." She told him softly.

He left the DeLuca residence and immediately got on 285, heading north.

Maria was sitting on a bench at the park. Sitting, and wondering. She didn't know where to go. She tightened her jacket around herself and sighed. She missed her mom. But Maria knew it was better this way. The sooner she was out of New Mexico, the better. The FBI wouldn't know where she went, everyone would be safe. Her mom would be sad, but safe. All of Michael's friends would be happy. The Parkers, maybe they would leave Roswell too. Sell the restaurant. They might be happier that way. She grabbed her wallet from her bag and opened it to see how much cash she had. She didn't want to sleep on a park bench. It was October, the desert, and it got really cold.

"Maria DeLuca?" She jerked her head up and saw two uniformed police men walking towards her. She was screwed. "We're going to have to ask you to come with us."

Maria glanced around, if she ran she wouldn't get far. Slowly she stood up and walked with them the short distance to a patrol car, where she climbed into the back. The drive to the Police station was short, and they sat her down in a chair inside. "What did I do? Why am I here?" She asked.

"We got a call from the Sheriff in Roswell. Runaway?" Maria looked down quickly. She should have run farther.

"Maria!" She looked up and saw Jim Valenti stalking towards her. Stoic expression as ever on his face. "Thank you." He said to one of the officers, and then grabbed Maria's bag. "Lets go." She followed him to his car and climbed inside.

Maria was silent in the car. She did not want to be in a car with Jim Valenti. "Your mother was worried sick about you." She heard him say, and felt a pang of guilt. "What were you thinking? Why did you run away?" She remained silent. "I don't know what is going on..." Internally Maria scoffed at that. "Maria, if you talk to me, I can help you."

"You can help by leaving me alone." She said and rested her head against the window and clenched her eyes shut. Determined to fake sleep the rest of the way back to Roswell. She heard him sigh. But he didn't speak another word.

The second the SUV pulled into the driveway Maria looked up and saw her mother running out the front door. Maria climbed out quickly, grabbed her bag, and turned around and felt her mother's arms around her.

"What were you thinking?!" Amy exclaimed, she hugged Maria close, then pulled back and cupped her face in her hands. "I was worried sick. Why did you do that? Why?"

Maria could see the tears, and the wariness in her mother's face and the guilt was eating away at her stomach. "I'm sorry." She breathed out.

"Thank you Jim." Amy told him before ushering Maria into the house. It was after four in the morning, Maria knew that her mom was exhausted.

"I'm sorry, mom." Maria repeated. She didn't know what else to say. "I am so sorry."

"Why? Why would you do such a thing?"

"I'm scared." Amy pulled Maria back into her arms and hugged her close, rocking her gently. "I'm just so scared."

"Of what?" Amy asked, smoothing down Maria's hair. "Of what, Maria?"

Maria wanted desperately to tell her mom exactly what she was afraid of. But she was afraid of how her mom would react.

"Maria?"

"I'm sorry." Maria whispered and hugged her mom tighter.

"Alex is here." Amy said softly, glancing towards the kitchen. "He has been here for hours, he was worried about you. He passed out at the kitchen table about twenty minutes before you got here." Amy cupped Maria's cheek. "You can tell me what this is about. Are you in some sort of trouble?"

"I've been working so much at the Crashdown, my grades have been dropping, and I've been fighting with Alex. I can't quit at the Crashdown because the Parkers can't handle it alone..." It amazed her how easily the lies spilled from her lips. Her mother who had always known when she was lying, didn't have a clue.

"You're only sixteen, Maria. This is not solely you're responsibility."

"I know... but... I guess I just let it get to me. I am sorry mom, I really am."

"Just promise me you won't do something like that again." Maria nodded and Amy nudged her towards the kitchen.

When Maria walked in she saw Alex, sitting at the table, his head propped up against his hand, snoring quietly. She pulled out the chair next to him and sat down, he jerked awake and looked around quickly. "Oh." He blinked several times and stared at her. "You're back."

"I am."

Alex frowned. "Why did you do it?"

"I told Michael." Maria whispered. "The truth." The realization struck Alex. Michael knew. "He told Tess."

"What?" Alex's voice cracked.

"She thinks I'm a compulsive liar, and I'm on drugs. Told me to stay away from him."

"Do you plan to?" Alex asked, and Maria nodded.

"He didn't believe me." Alex reached across the table and squeezed Maria's hand.

"It'll be okay, I promise. I am going to take care of this, Maria."

"You always have Alex... you've always taken care of us, taken responsibility for us."

"You're my family." He told her simply.

"I know." She sighed quietly. "I know." A few moments later Amy walked in and touched Maria's shoulder.

"You should go to bed, and Alex, you can sleep on the couch if you'd like."

"Thanks."

By Monday morning, Maria knew everyone in town knew about her running away. She was getting all kinds of looks, hearing all kinds of whispers. At lunch, as she sat with Alex in the cafeteria, poking at her lunch. "It'll blow over." He tried to reassure her.

"Yeah, right." She muttered. The bell rang and they walked to their next class together. She took her usual seat beside Alex, and gave a pained glance towards Liz's still empty desk. The class was the usual. Boring. Maria tuned out for the most part.

"Alright, class. With this assignment you will be working in pairs. And I will be choosing the pairs." There was a collective groan from the entire class. "Yes, yes, it's horrible." He walked past his desk, a stack of paper in hand and began walking down the rows of students, handing them out. Calling out the last names of students who were paired together. "Valenti with Harding. Whitman with Evans, that is I. Evans. DeLuca and M. Evans. Guerin with Park-" He cut himself off, and realized his mistake. "Guerin with Tolver."

Maria glanced at Alex, and saw the joy on his face for a split second. She knew he had a crush on Isabel. But this wasn't good. She glanced towards Max, he was staring straight ahead. The bell rang and Maria gathered her stuff and watched as Alex walk over to Isabel. "You work tonight?" She looked up and saw Max standing there, shifting from one foot to the other, and pulling his backpack farther onto his shoulder.

"Yeah. If you want to stop by..." He hadn't been in since Liz died. "Otherwise, lunch tomorrow?"

"I'll come in."

"See you then."

Alex looked at Isabel, and pulled his bag back onto his shoulder. "Hey..."

"Hi." She said simply standing up and gathering her books.

"So, when did you want to work on this?"

"I don't know..." She sighed. "Tonight, I guess? At the Crashdown?"

"Okay. Good. Tonight." Alex nodded. "Great." He couldn't help but grin. "I'll see you there." He turned around and walked over to Maria, a dazed look on his face.

"Alex, take a breath." Maria said as they walked out of the class room.

Tess let her bag slid off her shoulder and set it down beside the table and glanced at Kyle as he sat in front of her. She pulled out her notebook and a pen. "Alright." She glanced down at the paper and frowned a little. Some of the questions were kind of personal. "What is your best subject?" She glanced up at him while he situated himself.

"P.E."

"That doesn't count!" Tess told him.

"Why not?" He frowned at her. He did a decent job in all of his classes, he was passing them all, but he excelled in P.E. Being physical.

"Because, it isn't a real class."

"Yeah it is, it's a class you can pass or fail. Just like any other class."

"Fine." She pouted.

"Whats yours?" Kyle asked her as she wrote down his response.

"English Lit." He noticed the slightly dreamy look on her face.

"You only like it because of Mr. Walker." Kyle saw the blush creep up her face.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Its the same reason every other girl in school loves that class." Tess narrowed her eyes and scowled at him.

"Lets skip down a few here, how about, have you ever been in love?"

"No." Kyle answered instantly. Tess frowned. She'd been hoping for something to push his buttons about. But he wasn't going to let her. "You?"

She glanced across the courtyard, towards the parking lot and saw Max heading for the jeep. Had she ever been in love with Max? Sure she was, but they were better as friends.

Kyle followed her line of sight and saw her looking at Max across the parking lot. "Yeah." She nodded a little. "But it never would have worked anyways." She looked back at him and realized he knew exactly who she was talking about. "Favorite relative?"

"I don't have any." Tess looked up from her paper.

"What?"

"Well, other than my dad I mean. Mom died when I was little, really little, and Dad didn't have any other family."

"Your mom died?" Tess whispered. "So did mine. When I was five. So it's just me and my dad too." They just stared at each other for a moment, and Tess wondered if they really had more in common than either of them had realized.

"How did she die?" Kyle asked quietly.

"I don't remember." Tess closed her eyes. She had spent years trying to remember what had happened. "We were walking, down some path, my dad was back up by the car. I think. And..." She trailed off, in her minds eye seeing her mother, smiling down at her. "The next thing I remember was running and screaming. Someone killed her, but they never found who. They say I was so traumatized by it, I blocked it out." She shrugged a little. "How did your mom die?"

"Car accident, I was only a year old when it happened." Kyle reached across the table and touched the back of her hand. The guilt of his lie hit him like a ton of bricks when she met his eyes. How could he lie to her? He could have just told her that he was adopted. Something. Anything. But that was the story. He was a year old and she was killed in a car accident. When the truth was, she never existed. His 'dad' was simply the man that had found him, and raised him.

"Do you want to go to the Crashdown? We can finish this over dinner?" Tess smiled at him warmly, and Kyle nodded.

"Sure." They gathered their belongings again and walked together to Kyle's car and he drove them to the diner. They got a booth together and each ordered a soda.

"So where are you from?" Tess asked him taking a sip of her drink.

"Everywhere, pretty much." He told her, grabbing the bottle of Tabasco. He tipped the bottle over his drink and poured some in, not realizing at first the strange look on Tess' face. He shrugged a little. "Tastes good." Then he decided to quickly change the subject. "Dad is some... brain guy in the military, research, development kind of stuff."

"Oh."

"Yeah, we travel around a lot."

"I've always wanted to do that, get out of Roswell. Don't get out much. I've been to Albuquerque and that's pretty much it." She smiled a little shyly.

"The traveling part is cool, changing schools every year, isn't. I can't ever get into anything, friends are hard to come by when you're only there for nine months."

On the other side of the diner, Maria was standing behind the counter, staring. She had just dropped off the drinks at Tess and Kyle's table and she walked back to try and finish some of her homework when she saw Kyle dump a fair amount of Tabasco into his soda. She had never seen anyone do that, except for herself, and Liz and Alex. But no, that just wasn't possible. Was it?

"Hey, Maria." She heard the bell over the door go off and saw Max coming in.

"Hey, Max." She nodded towards him.

"You have some time to work on this project?"

"Yeah." She shuffled her books around a little as Max sat down in front of her. "Did you want anything to drink?"

"Cherry coke?" She turned around and filled a glass before setting it down in front of him. "Thanks."

"Sure. So... favorite subject?"

"Biology." They both paused for a moment. Liz had been Max's partner in biology. "You?" His voice suddenly strained.

The truth was she hated all of her classes. "Math, I guess." It was the only one she was currently passing. She was pretty good at it, she didn't have much trouble understanding any of it.

"Favorite ice cream?"

"Strawberry." Maria told him.

"Vanilla." He shrugged. "It is simple, but you can add anything to it." Tears suddenly stung Maria's eyes.

"That's what Liz thought too."

"Why did you run away from home Maria?" Max asked her quietly.

"And what number is that one, Maxwell?" She furiously wiped at her eyes.

"Call it a personal question."

"I don't do personal questions."

"Then maybe it's the answer to this one, what are you afraid of?" Max hissed at her.

"What do you want from me?" She hissed back angrily. "I backed off Michael. I've had nothing to do with him, what more do you want me to do? Since apparently running away didn't work."

"I want to know what is going on." Max demanded, keeping his voice low. There weren't many people in the diner, but none of them needed to hear what was going on.

"Why don't you ask Michael, he apparently likes to share my secrets." She grabbed the paper from in front of Max, and thrust hers at him. "How about you fill out your answers, and I'll fill out mine, I'll give it back on Monday." She slammed her books shut and started shoving them in her backpack, avoiding looking at Max.

Max sat there for a moment longer before gathering his stuff and walking out of the restaurant. After he was gone Maria dropped her bag. "Terri, I am taking a break." She called and disappeared into the bathroom. She buried her face in her hands and began to cry softly.

Alex pulled his car up in front of the diner he had spent many hours at. But this time, it was different, because, he was going to be there with Isabel Evans. He checked his hair in the mirror, and then climbed out, just in time to see her pull up. "Hey." He smiled at her. He couldn't help but be overjoyed by her presence. She didn't look so happy to be there though. It was for homework after all, that part he wasn't so excited about. "Shall we?" He gestured to the door.

"Yeah." She said and walked up to the door and went inside. They found an empty booth quickly, one of the waitresses came over and took their drink order. Isabel pulled out the paper and a pen and looked at Alex. "Alright, so number one, What was the last book you read?"

"The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost." Isabel glanced up at him before writing it down. "You?"

"Rules of Cheerleading guide book."

Alex nodded. "Okay. Your favorite memory?"

"When I was chosen as Captain of the Cheerleading squad. Yours?"

"I guess when I got my first bass guitar."

"I'll bet you were ecstatic." Isabel said, in a slightly annoyed voice. She knew she wasn't being very nice. But he was friends with Maria, and Isabel didn't trust Maria at all.

Maria washed her face and recomposed herself before opening the door and walking back into the restaurant. Alex was now sitting in a booth with Isabel, neither one of them looked very happy. Tess and Kyle were still talking, and they looked pretty pleased. She looked down at her book bag and sighed. So much for normal.


	6. Chapter 6

**Aura: Book One: Trials and Tribulations: Chapter Six**

Michael had just finished up his homework, and was thinking of watching TV, maybe calling Max and hanging out with him. "Michael?" He heard Mrs. Pascal call him. It was still early, he was sure that she hadn't made dinner already. He walked out of the room he shared with Dylan and frowned. She was dressed up, really nice. Her normally frizzy hair was combed down, calm, and pinned up. Mr. Pascal walked in, looking equally nice. "Michael, I meant to ask you about it the other day, but you've been gone so much, but Robert and I were made plans, would you mind watching Dylan and Sarah? Unless you made plans."

Michael glanced at the little girl, happily sitting in her swing. Dylan was sitting on the couch, flipping through the channels. "Um, sure, I can do that."

"Great." She smiled warmly at him. "I really appreciate this. Sarah does have a bit of a cold, but her cold medicine is in the cabinet. Give her some in about twenty minutes, and another dose before bed. Make sure Dylan is in bed by nine." Mrs. Pascal gave Dylan a warning look. "I mean it mister." She pointed a finger at him. "There is a twenty on the counter in the kitchen for some pizza. Be good boys." She smiled as she pulled on her jacket.

Together Mr. and Mrs. Pascal walked out the door, and Michael looked at Dylan, who turned the volume up on the TV, there was a loud explosion on the TV which made the windows shake, and suddenly Sarah was screaming. "Dylan!" Michael barked and looked at the girl and frowned. Crap. Why had he agreed to this? He walked over to her and carefully lifted her into his arms, but she was still crying. At least, not quite as loud. He walked over to the phone and quickly dialed Tess' number.

"What's up Michael?" She asked when she answered.

"I need you to come over, and help."

"Why? What's going on?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Pascal abandoned me with the kids." He heard Tess laugh.

"Sorry, Michael, I'm still working on my homework with Kyle."

"With, Kyle?" Michael emphasized his name.

"Bye Michael!" He heard the phone click, and then instantly was dialing Isabel's number.

"Hey, Michael, what's up?"

"What are you doing?"

"Family dinner." She told him.

"No!" He yelped. "Please! Come and help me."

"I can't. Sorry." He hung up the phone and glared at the little girl. "Can't you stop crying?" She only responded to scream even louder. "Dylan!" He roared and walked into the living room. "Turn the TV down and tell me what to do to shut her up."

Dylan looked at him, and rolled his eyes. He lowered the volume on the TV but only shrugged his shoulders. Michael grumbled and walked back into the kitchen and opened the fridge. There were a few jars of her baby food in there, and a bottle. He frowned at the bottle and grabbed it and tossed it in the microwave for a few seconds. He knew enough to check the temperature before trying to stick it in her mouth. But even when he did, she wasn't having it. She screamed, and swung her little fists. He grabbed the bottle of medicine and looked at it. He opened it and it was empty. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Dylan! Put your jacket on. We're going to the store."

"Why?" Dylan looked at Michael annoyed.

"Because, Mrs. Pascal apparently didn't realize that Sarah's medicine was gone." He grabbed the twenty off the counter, put Sarah's jacket on her, even as she fought.

"You don't have a car." Dylan said as he pulled on his jacket.

"We're walking." Michael said, holding Sarah against his chest. Stupid Isabel and Tess, why couldn't they help him?

"Walking?" Dylan whined.

"Yes." Michael snapped.

Maria closed up the diner, after practically shoving Tess and Kyle out the door. Her cell phone rang as she walked out the door. "Maria, honey, would you stop at the store on your way home?"

"Sure mom, what did you need?"

"We're out of tea bags."

"Okay. I'll be home a little bit later." Maria hung up her phone and headed to the store that was just a few blocks away. She went inside, it was quite for the most part, save for the sound of a child crying. She walked down the aisles, and looked at the tea. She picked up a few boxes of tea before she headed towards the registers. As she got closer, she heard the child's cries getting louder. She glanced down the aisle and saw Michael standing there. "Michael?" She froze.

"Maria." He spun and looked at her as she walked closer. "What are you doing here?"

She held up the box of tea. "Who is this?" She asked looking at the two kids.

"Dylan, and Sarah." Maria nodded a little, Sarah was still screaming.

"Can I...?" She asked, holding her hands out towards the little girl.

"Sure." Maria took the little girl and cradled her in her arms, and rocked her gently. Instantly Sarah calmed down. "How did you do that?" Michael asked, looking at her in awe.

"You're afraid of her." Maria rocked the little girl and stroked her cheek. She glanced up and realized where they were standing. "What are you doing here?"

"Sarah has a cold. She ran out of medicine. We're trying to figure out which one to get."

"It was purple." Dylan spoke up.

"So what's the problem?" Michael grabbed the two purple bottles.

"Two of them are purple." Maria smiled a little, and pointed to one.

"That is probably the one."

"Thanks." He said awkwardly and handed it to Dylan. "Look, Maria, could you... come over, I need to talk to you."

She frowned a little and then nodded. "Yeah, I guess." They paid for their stuff and began walking towards the Pascal's. Michael ordered a pizza, and Maria gave Sarah her medicine, then Michael shooed Dylan back off to the living room to watch TV till the pizza came. Maria continued to hold Sarah in her arms, using her as a distraction.

"Look... I'm sorry." Michael told her and Maria looked at him.

"You told her, and you promised me you wouldn't say anything... whether you believed me or not Michael..."

"I know, and I am sorry, but I needed to talk to someone. I needed ... Maria, you told me you were ..." He paused. "I nearly lost my best friend because I convinced her to switch out your blood."

"I realize that Michael, but... her knowing... neither of you believe me... it doesn't matter. It's still my life on the line."

Michael stared at her, and reached up and scratched his eyebrow. "That night, that you told me...I saw something."

"Saw something?" Her brow furrowed.

"You. When you were... it was before I met you at the orphanage. There were these... pods. And Alex was there, and Liz... Those boys that were picking on you. One kept calling you a freak. Then there was another thing... it was Technicolor. You, and me. You were dressed up like a princess, and I was ..."

"Slaying the dragon." Maria whispered. She blushed a deep shade of red. "You were my knight in shining armor."

"It's true... you really are..." There was a knock on the door. "Damn it." Michael hissed under his breath and walked out of the kitchen. He thrust the money at the delivery guy and then dropped the pizza on the coffee table in front of Dylan. "Don't eat it all." He said and then walked back into the kitchen. Maria was sitting at the counter, feeding Sarah. She looked up at him as he walked in.

"So you believe me now?"

"I don't know Maria..." He sighed and sat down on the other stool.

"I don't know how else to prove it to you Michael, but it is true."

"Why did you run away?" He asked her.

"You know, Tess knows... Valenti ... he had my uniform. Blood soaked. My blood, Liz's blood. The FBI knows."

"Wait, what, the FBI?" She nodded.

"We made a pact when we were little, that if anyone found out, we'd all run. They don't know about Alex, they knew about Liz. When she was in Florida visiting her aunt, she healed a little girl... that is what Liz could do, heal. Some little girl was hit by a car and Liz healed her. The FBI found out about her. And then Liz got shot, and I tried to heal her. But I couldn't, because, I just can't. But, I managed to bleed all over my uniform, and now the FBI has it."

Michael sat back a little and shook his head. "How do you know all of this?"

"Alex hacked into the FBI files, he's trying to figure out how to wipe out everything." He looked at her and frowned.

"Is that really a good idea? What happens when they figure out what Alex is doing? And they come after you."

"Then Alex and I leave."

"And break your mom's heart."

"What do you expect me to do?" Maria asked him quietly.

"Talk to Valenti. He can help you."

"No!" Maria exclaimed. "That isn't even an option!"

"Why the hell not?"

"He'll turn me over to the FBI!"

"No, he wouldn't do that, Maria." Michael told her. "It'll be okay. We'll go and talk to him-"

"No!" Maria yelled, and Sarah started to cry again. She stood up and started rocking her once again, till she calmed down. "He can't know... I can't tell him." He already knew too much. "Please, just drop it." She handed a now calm Sarah back to Michael, and picked up her stuff. "I need to go."

"Maria-"

"I'll see you at school."

"Stop, please." He followed her through the living room, and out the door. "Maria-"

"Bye Michael." She quickly stepped off the porch, and took off down the street. Michael stood there staring after her.

"Was that your girlfriend?" Dylan asked as Michael walked back into the house.

"Shut up Dylan."

"Ohhh, she is, isn't she?"

"Dylan. Shut it." Michael sunk down on the couch after setting Sarah back down in her swing. He grabbed a piece of pizza and glanced at the clock. "Did you finish your homework?"

"Yeah." Dylan nodded.

Maria got home and headed for the kitchen. "Honey, what took you so long?" Amy asked, looking up from the stack of papers in front of her.

"Ran into Michael. He was baby sitting, and needed some help." Maria told her shoving the box of tea in the cabinet.

"Oh, that was nice of you."

"I'm going to bed." Maria said and started to walk out of the kitchen.

"Maria," Amy frowned and looked at her daughter. "Why can't you talk to me anymore?"

Maria turned and looked at her mom, she felt guilty. "Mom... it's just..." She sighed. "Things are really complicated."

"So talk to me, please. I love you, and I am worried about you."

"Mom, I'm not into anything. It's just..."

"Jim told me there is a rumor that you're into drugs."

"Mom!" Maria threw her hands up in the air. "You of all people should know that I wouldn't do anything like that!"

"I don't know anymore, Maria!" Amy looked up at her daughter, a pleading look on her face. "Please, talk to me. Tell me the truth."

"I can't!" Maria clenched her eyes shut. "I just... can't." Amy watched Maria run out of the room and heard her bedroom door close. She picked up the phone and dialed Jim's number.

"Hello?"

"Jim, it's Amy. I need your help."

Monday morning, the first thing Maria did was find Max. She thrust the paper into his hands. "Here." He stopped and just stared at her for a second before digging into his bag and finding his copy.

"Maria-" Max started, holding out his copy of the assignment.

"Forget it." She said snatching it from him before turning around and walking away quickly.

"Maria." Max chased after her. "Look, I'm sorry." He told her as he caught up with her. "I was a jerk, and I'm sorry. I had no right."

"Sure you did." He paused for a moment.

"Maria, I was an ass." He gently grabbed her arm. "And I'm trying to apologize here."

"Fine, apology accepted." She snapped at him and started down the hall again.

"Why are you being like this, I'm trying to be nice here-"

"Because." Maria hissed at him. "You're just trying to be nice to try and figure out what is going on."

"I thought you said it was nothing."

"It isn't any of your business!"

Maria continued through the rest of the day, avoiding everyone as much as she could, and at all costs. After school was out she drove out to the cemetary, and sunk down into the grass and pulled her knees up to her chest, and looked down at Liz's grave. "Liz..." She whispered, tears welled up in her eyes. "I don't know what to do. You're my best friend and you are supposed to be there to help me. You always had the answers, Liz." Maria choked out a sob. "You always had the answers for me. I don't know what to do anymore! Things are screwed up with Alex still... and there are things I just can't talk to him about. They all think I'm on drugs, even my mother! Of all people, thinks I'm doing drugs. And then there is Michael..." Maria sighed.

"Michael, I told him everything. I mean, everything. He knows the truth, and he told Tess. But, Tess didn't believe him. She thinks I'm high and a pathological liar." She scoffed. "And I was a jerk to Max... you should have asked him out." She buried her face in her hands and started to sob. "I need you Liz."

Maria heard a sound and quickly looked up and saw Max Evans standing a few feet away, a small bouquet of flowers in hand, just looking at her. She wiped her tears away quickly and looked at him. "What are you doing here?"

Max looked down at the flowers, and then looked at Liz's headstone where there was a similar bouquet, of flowers, though now mostly dead now.

"I'm sorry." Maria told him. "I've been a jerk, and I didn't have the right to be angry at you, you didn't do anything. Things are just... really messed up right now."

Max knelt down and switched out the flowers. "You can talk to me. I know we're not friends, but we could be, and I don't know what is going on, but you can talk to me."

"I can't... Max, I just can't."

"You don't have to tell me any of the details, I know that you won't, but you can talk to me, about other stuff."

"I'm not on drugs, Max." Maria told him, pulling her knees up against her chest. "I've never done drugs, never even thought of it... its more complicated than that. But, I can't tell you. My mom doesn't believe anything I tell her anymore, things are still messed up with Alex. I'm failing most of my classes right now, but I can't work less hours at the Crashdown because the Parker's are always out of town anymore."

Max looked at her, then sat down. "You could ask for help."

"I don't know how..."

"'Help me' works." Maria looked up at him and sighed.

"I don't know how you can help me."

"What did you normally talk to Liz about?"

A small smile graced Maria's features. "You. It usually always ended up on you."

"Oh..."

"If you saw a little girl get hit by a car... and you could help her, but it would mean breaking a pact that you made when you were seven... would you do it?"

"Of course." Max told her, and frowned. Now he was really confused.

Maria nodded. "Me too." She sighed quietly. "You're good a biology, right?"

"Yeah." He nodded. After all, he hadn't just been Liz's partner for no reason. They both had excelled in Biology.

"Would you be willing to tutor me? I'm failing... just like most of my classes right now." Max nodded.

"Sure, I will."

"Thanks." Maria couldn't help but smile just a little. "I should get home, my mom has been freaking out lately..."

"Okay, when do you want to get started on your biology stuff?"

"Tomorrow, after school?"

"Great. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Max." Maria said and got up and walked away from the graveyard.

Jim Valenti narrowed his eyes slightly, now she was making friends with Max? Something was going on. His phone rang and he picked it up quickly. "Valenti."

"It wasn't her blood."

"What?"

"They switched it out somehow." Damn. He followed her with his eyes as she walked to her car and climbed in, then left.

"Whose blood is it?" There was a moment of silence. "Do you know whose it is?"

"Tess'."

"What?" Jim exploded. Tess was involved. She was helping cover something up. She had to know what was going on.

"It is a criminal offense." The voice on the phone told him.

"Leave my daughter out of this." There had to be a reason, she wouldn't just willingly do something like that. She was a good kid.


	7. Chapter 7

**AURA: Trials and Tribulations: Chapter Seven**

Alex's fingers flew across the keyboard. His eyes flickered back and forth across the screen. They knew it wasn't her blood. It wasn't her blood. Another female. Not an alien. They were screwed, and Alex knew it. He had been able to access the files, read them, see what they knew, but he didn't know how to erase anything. He had been working on some sort of virus. Short out their server, cause them to loose all the information pertaining to Maria and Liz. Before it was too late.

He lifted his head for a second, glancing around the diner. He had settled himself into a far corner booth, his back to a wall, so no one could sneak up on him. Maria wasn't there. He'd thought she was working tonight, but he was never sure anymore.

The bell over the door went off and he glanced up and saw Isabel Evans, clad in her cheerleading uniform walk in the door, with a small gaggle of her cheerleading friends. He wasn't sure why he liked her. She was beautiful, of course. She emanated perfection. She was cool, calm. And he knew, that inside, she was this amazingly caring person.

Maria would have smacked the crap out of him if she knew that his favorite thing to do was to dream walk Isabel. Slip into her dreams, watch her. He always ached to touch her, but even in her dreams he feared her rejection. Besides, they weren't supposed to get involved. They were alone, and that was how it was supposed to be. Just him and Maria now, against the world.

"Hey, Evans." Some jock waved at her, and she smiled at him.

"Hey, good game." She said to the jock, abandoning her friends to walk over to his table.

"You looked good out there." He told her.

"Thanks, you too."

Alex rolled his eyes and ducked back behind his laptop. It was sickening, the mating rituals of humans. The flirting.

Tess giggled quietly and dragged Kyle behind her. "You are going to get me arrested." He whispered and then heard her giggle again.

"No, I won't besides, my dad is the Sheriff."

"In that case you're going to get me shot!" He pulled her to a stop and pinned her to the wall they were sneaking along. She smiled up at him.

"I wouldn't dream of it." They both stared at each other for a long moment before Kyle closed the distance between them and kissed her. Tess instantly wrapped her arms around his shoulders and clung to him, while his arms wound around her waist.

They broke apart, gasping for breath. Tess smiled up a him, and Kyle couldn't help but grin back. "Come on, let's go." She said and grabbed his hand again and started dragging him along with her.

"Why are we doing this?"

"Because, it's fun." She insisted.

"Breaking into the library after hours is not my idea of fun."

Tess laughed quietly as they reached the inner door. "Through here." She told him and fished the two barrettes from her pocket and shoved them into the lock. After a few seconds they heard the lock tumble open and she pushed open the door.

They walked into a room, and Kyle's mouth fell open a little. "Wow."

"It's not open to the public, yet. This is the stuff that is going into the new UFO Museum they are building." Tess smiled and walked down one of the rows of stuff. Everything was stacked up, and close together. Pictures. Supposed samples of materials from alien spaceships.

"How did you know about this?" Kyle asked his brow furrowing as he looked at a plastic case, inside was a replica of the crash.

"My dad... and my grandpa, they were both into this stuff..." Tess flipped through a stack of framed pictures. "My grandpa actually almost went to jail... shot some man. Lost his job over it all. Grandma had died a few years before that, he wasn't doing very good without her. He got really obsessed." Tess got quiet, staring at a picture of a sighting out in the desert.

Kyle looked at her. He hated lying to her. This beautiful girl, with a really screwed up family, and he was lying to her. He walked over and slid his hand over her hip, and around to rest on her stomach and pulled her against his chest.

It was getting late. Alex finally lifted his head again, the diner was practically empty. He shut his computer and threw some money on the table. He stuck his laptop in his bag and headed out of the diner. He heard a sound and frowned.

"Stop it." The voice sounded not far away.

"You like it."

"Paulie, get off me." The voice was more forceful. A quiet shriek. Isabel. That was Isabel's voice. He stepped around the corner, they were down the alley, just a little ways, he was pushing her up against the brick wall, and she was trying to push him back.

"You like it, Evans, you know you want it." Alex narrowed his eyes and dropped his bag and grabbed Paulie's shoulder and yanked him off Isabel. She stared at him in shock, and Paulie looked angry.

"Whitman?" Paulie laughed. "Go back to your computer, geek."

"How about you leave the lady alone." Alex growled, and Paulie laughed again.

"How about, I don't." Paulie swung his fist, and caught the edge of Alex's jaw, sending him onto his ass. Paulie laughed again and started to advance on Isabel once more, but he never reached her. He felt himself being shoved, face first into the wall. He turned around and felt Alex's fist slam into his nose. Blood was gushing instantly from Paulie broken nose.

"Ahhole." Paulie yelled, his voice muffled by the blood.

"Don't touch her again." Alex growled, leaning in close to Paulie's face. Alex looked at Isabel, who was still just staring at him. "You okay?" She was shaking. "Come on, I'll give you a ride home."

Isabel let Alex lead her to his car and climbed in the passenger seat. She had her arms wrapped around herself. "Are you okay?" He asked her as he started the car and started driving. She didn't answer him, just pulled her knees up to her chest, curling up into a ball in the seat, her face buried in her knees.

Alex kept glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as he drove. Her shoulders were shaking, but he couldn't hear any sounds coming from her. He pulled over to the side of the road about a block from her house, and she still didn't move. "Is-" He reached out and touched her shoulder. She raised her head and looked at him and he saw the tears cascading down her face.

"I can't go home like this." She whispered.

Alex reached into the glove box and found a pack of tissue that Maria had stuck in there at some point and time and he opened it and looked at Isabel. "Here." He said softly, handing her a few tissues. She sniffled and blew her nose and wiped her eyes. "Did he hurt you? I mean, physically?"

She shook her head. "No." She sat up a little and flipped down the visor to look at her reflection in the mirror. Her makeup was smudged. "I think you broke his nose... that's some right hook you've got." Isabel glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, before taking another tissue and did her best to wipe away the smeared mascara under her eyes. "Thanks for the ride home." She told him and then quickly got out of the car and jogged the short distance to her house.

Alex kept his eyes focused on her until she made it in the door of her house. Then he sighed and headed home.

Maria was sitting at the kitchen table with Max as he tried to explain something about photosynthesis. But she wasn't hearing a word he said. All she heard was 'blah blah blah.' Her mind kept drifting off. Thinking about other things. Valenti. Michael. Her mom. Alex. Liz.

"Are you paying any attention to me?" Max asked suddenly, and Maria jerked slightly looking at him.

"What?" He laughed.

"You haven't heard a word I said, have I?" Maria shook her head a little, feeling ashamed that he was taking the time to help her, and she wasn't paying any attention.

"I'm sorry."

"What's wrong?" He asked her.

"Nothing..." Maria shook her head, and then heard the front door. They both looked towards the door and saw Isabel poke her head in the door.

"You okay Iz?" Max asked frowning.

"I'm fine." She said coldly, shooting Maria a dirty look.

"I should go." Maria quickly closed her book and started to gather her stuff.

"Don't leave because of me." Isabel said and then disappeared from the doorway.

"I should go see what is going on." Max frowned and looked at Maria. "You work tomorrow?" She nodded.

"Thanks, Max. For your help. I really do appreciate it."

"No problem, Maria. I am more than happy to help. Let me know when you want to get together again, okay?"

Max walked Maria to the door and watched her walk out to her car before he walked down the hallway to Isabel's room. "What's up Iz?" He asked knocking on the door.

"Nothing." She snapped at him. Max tried the door but it was locked.

"Isabel, open the door."

"Go away Max." She yelled at him. Max frowned at the door. Something was wrong and he was getting pissed off that his sister was ignoring him completely.

"Isabel Amanda Evans." He growled. A moment later the door flew open and she was standing there, changed out of her Cheerleading Uniform and into her favorite pajamas, with tears shining in her eyes. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it." She told him, and then threw herself into his arms as she cried.

Max sighed as he held his sobbing sister. She never was like this. She was the Ice Princess, and she prided herself on never crying in front of anyone. And if she was sobbing like this, whatever it was, had to have been big. "Tell me, baby sister." He whispered as he rubbed her back. "What happened?" But she shook her head.

Tess smiled shyly at Kyle, as they laid on their backs in the park. It was dark, and it was cold, but she was calm. After they left the library they had walked to the park, and laid down to stare up at the stars. He had told her about traveling. About the different places he had been. She had told him about life in Roswell, having the Sheriff for a dad. Right now she was curled up against his side, using his arm as a pillow.

He looked down at her and smiled, then brought a hand up to stroke her cheek. "I should get you home." He said and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I don't want to go home."

"What do you want to do? Break into another building? Vandalism?" He joked.

Tess smiled and shook her head. "Actually, I'm pretty content right where we are." He tightened his arm around her and dropped his mouth to hers and kissed her tenderly.

"Miss Harding." Tess jerked her head up and looked wide eyed at the police officer standing a few feet away. "I'd get home if I were you. Your father is on a rampage."

"Thanks, Hanson." Tess bit her lip and scrambled to her feet with Kyle.

"Need a ride?"

"No, my car is over at the library." She grabbed onto Kyle's hand and dragged him with her away from the park and back towards the library. Tess drove Kyle to his house and turned off the engine as they sat there. "Thanks for ..." She turned her head and looked at him, and was silenced by his lips descending on hers. They broke apart a moment later and she smiled at him.

"I'll see you at school." Kyle said and kissed her lightly before getting out. He walked away from the car and went inside. He felt this twinge. He really liked her and he was lying. All of it was lies.

"What were you doing with her?" Kyle looked over and saw the man who had raised him. Taken him in. Taught him everything.

"We went out."

"She isn't your objective."

"Objective?" Kyle scoffed. "I'm not distracted from what I'm supposed to be doing. I know I'm supposed to get close to Maria, and Alex. I'm working on it."

"Apparently not very hard. The FBI is after them. They know about them. Do you want them to be taken?"

"Of course not." Kyle snapped.

"Well, while you're off fornicating with the Sheriff's Daughter, the Sheriff is getting closer to Maria."

"I know what I'm doing!" Kyle exploded. "I won't let him get to them. She is the Sheriff's daughter. Don't you realize, it makes it easier for me to find out just what he knows?"

Nesado narrowed his eyes. "You had better watch yourself."

The next day at lunch, Maria was sitting in the library, staring blankly at the papers in front of her. She was trying to take care of her make up work, trying to get her grades back up. Max was supposed to meet her later. They both had a free period after lunch. But she was trying to get as much done before that. So far, she wasn't having any luck. Her mind kept drifting, to Michael, to Alex. The FBI. Her mom.

"Hey." Max's voice cut through her thoughts and she looked up quickly.

"Oh, hey."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, fine, why?"

"I said your name about five times." She looked down and then back up at him blushing.

"Sorry." She sighed. "Just... lots of stuff in my head."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Okay." Max smiled. "Okay, so..." He opened his bag and pulled out a few books. "Are you ready?"

"Do I have a choice?" She gave him a small smile back and he shook his head.

"None." Maria laughed. And for the first time in his life, Max noticed someone, other than Liz Parker.

"Okay, okay. Since I have no choice, I guess I am ready." She leaned forward to look at the book he pulled at and Max couldn't help but notice how green her eyes were. The way her hair fell in her face. She tucked some behind her ear. "What are we studying today?" She asked, glancing up at him. She smiled a little and Max felt his face flush, and his pulse quicken.

He swallowed hard, trying to find his voice. "Biology... mating." He coughed. "Slugs. Mrs. Turner wants you to get slugs to mate, for extra credit, to get you caught back up."

"Sounds exciting... the mating rituals of slugs." She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You're going to walk me through it, right?" She asked and he nodded.

"Of course." And in the back of his mind, he wondered if they could experiment with any other mating rituals while they were at it.

Michael trudged down the hall toward the library. Annoyed. Why had he come to school? Oh yeah, because the Pascal's insisted on it. And made him feel responsible for being a good role model for Dylan. And it really pissed him off. So to make up for the time and work he'd missed, he was having to do massive extra credit work. Thus, the library and he were going to become very good friends.

He walked in and looked around. He didn't think he'd ever actually stepped foot in the library. He frowned. Well, there was only one way to find what he was looking for. He started walking down the isles, glancing at the little signs, when he heard a laugh. And it wasn't just any laugh.

Maria DeLuca's happy, bubbly laugh. He hadn't heard her laugh since Liz died. He followed the sound and saw her sitting at a table with Max. His best friend. They were smiling at each other, and apparently, Maria found him hilarious. She was smiling. She actually looked happy. And Max looked pretty damn happy too. Michael couldn't hold back the quiet growl in his throat. But neither of them even noticed. Was he... jealous? He turned and stormed out of the library, screw extra credit.

Alex adjusted his bag as he walked down the hallway. He was looking for Maria. They needed to talk. He'd found some more information last night while he'd been hacking into government files. But instead he saw Isabel, and completely forgot everything but her. She was wearing jeans, and a sweatshirt, her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She looked like she had last night in his car. Vulnerable. She was getting odd looks for fellow students. But she didn't even seem to notice them.

"Hey." The word came out before he could stop it. She just looked at him, like she was surprised he dared address her in public.

"Hey." She answered back.

"You...okay?" Slowly she nodded.

"Isabel." One of her friends appeared, and gave Alex a weird look. "Where were you at lunch? You missed our practice! You're the captain of the team! What is wrong with you?"

"I'm sick, so go away Ashley."

"You must be seriously ill, its the only way you would be caught dead without makeup." She sniggered before continuing down the hallway. Isabel looked back at Alex who was simply looking at her.

"Stop it." She told him.

"What?"

"Looking at me like that." Alex quickly looked away, but glanced back at her. "Can you give me a ride home?" She asked him, and he nodded.

"Of course."

"I've gotta go grab a few more things out of my locker, meet you at your car in a few minutes?" He nodded again, and gave her a small smile. She watched him walk away and then went down the other hallway towards her locker. Isabel just stood there and stared at it, slowly doing the combination, trying to remember each digit. Once it was open she grabbed the book she needed and glanced down the hallway as she shut it, and spotted Paulie with some of his friends.

Paulie looked pissed. Isabel felt panicked. She quickly turned and rushed down the empty hallway away from them. Once she was outside she took a deep breath. There were people everywhere. At least Paulie wouldn't try anything. She found Alex standing by his car and wordlessly climbed in.

A moment later Alex got in the car and started down the street, away from the school, towards her house. "What do you even care what Paulie does to me?" Alex looked at her confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Last night... why did you come down the alley, why did you stop him? You could have been just like anyone else and just walked by, he could have kicked your ass."

"Who hit who?" Alex reminded her. "I don't think everyone would just walk by and let you... any woman, get attacked." She didn't say another word for the rest of the drive. Alex pulled the car to a stop and she mumbled a thanks as she got out, and ran up to the door.

Maria flew from table to table, taking orders, delivering food, smiling like a maniac. When inside she was screaming and crying and throwing food at people. The restaurant was packed, and Josey had called in sick, so she was alone. Screwed. "Alex!" She exclaimed when she saw her friend walk in the door. "My best friend in the whole wide world."

"She called in sick again didn't she?" He asked and Maria nodded. "Okay, let me put my bag in the back." He told her and headed into the back room.

The night flew by. Before they knew it, it was closing time and Maria fell into a booth exhausted. "I am just sleeping here." She told him tiredly.

"Let me throw out the trash, and I'll walk you to your car." He told her and grabbed the bag and headed out the back door.

"Hey, Whitman." Alex glanced towards the voice and saw Paulie standing about ten feet away. "You broke my fuckin nose. All over that little whore? Did you get laid for coming to her rescue?" Four of Paulie's friends appeared, they all looked like they wanted a fight. Alex knew he was screwed.

"Shit." He breathed, and just hoped Maria wouldn't wonder what was taking him so long. Paulie threw the first punch, knocking him on his back. Then two of Paulie's friends came in and pulled him back to his feet, and they all took turns, slamming their fists wherever they could.

"Next time, mind your own business. Geek." They left him laying on the ground, bleeding. Alex groaned. He could feel the blood dripping from his nose, his mouth. His whole body hurt.

"Alex?" Maria's voice came from the doorway a second later. "Oh god! Alex!" She ran to him and touched his face.

"Don't heal it." He groaned out.

"What?! What happened!"

"Help me inside." Alex said and Maria helped him to his feet and guided him inside. Once there he fell onto the couch and Maria went and grabbed some ice.

"Tell me what happened."

"Paulie."

"What? Why?"

"Because, he was trying to attack Isabel last night... I stopped him. He was pissed." Maria frowned, and touched his face. "Damn, don't." He winced.

"You could have kicked their asses."

"Not without giving myself away." He sighed.

"Come on, I'll walk you to your car." She said, and Alex gave her a dirty look.

"You're not funny."

"I know." But she smiled a little anyways. "You can heal it."

"No, I can't. They know what they did to me."

"At least some of it. It was so dark, they aren't going to know each and every cut and bruise." Maria frowned at him. "I hate to see you like this." She touched his face, and healed one of the smaller cuts.

"Thanks." He kissed her forehead. "Get home safe."

"You too." She said and then jogged the short distance to her car. They both waited a moment, and then drove out of the parking lot at the same time.

Michael slipped out his bedroom window silently. Dylan was snoring loudly, so he knew it was safe. He was at Maria's window within minutes. He tapped lightly on her window and she looked startled for a second, before opening it and letting him in. "What are you doing here?"

"Why is there blood on your uniform?" He asked, suddenly concerned.

"Alex got beat up, by Paulie and Company. Apparently Alex hit Paulie last night, for touching Isabel. What are you doing here?"

Michael stared at her, this was all news to him. "What are you doing with Max?"

"What?" Maria shook her head. "He's tutoring me. I suck at most of my classes, he's helping me so I can actually hopefully graduate some day."

"Looked like you were doing more that studying in the library today."

"You're spying on me?!" Maria hissed. Her mother was just down the hall. The last thing she needed was her mom finding Michael in her room and getting the sex talk.

"I was getting a book for one of my classes." It sounded like a really lame excuse for him, and Maria didn't believe him, he could tell by the look in her eyes, that were more vibrant than he'd ever seen them. And he knew she was livid.

"First you don't believe me when I tell you the truth! Then you tell Tess my biggest, life threatening secret! And now you're spying on me! What I do is NONE of your business Michael Guerin!" She had her finger on his chest, jabbing him to accentuate each word.

"It is when my friends are involved!" He roared back, his voice in a whisper, but the anger was there.

"What do you care what I do with Max?! I'm not hurting him! We're friends!" She threw her hands in the air, and Michael grabbed onto her wrist.

"Friends?!" He pulled her back when she started to walk away. "Looked like you were a whole lot more than that from where I stood!"

"What do you care?!" She wrenched her hand from his grasp and shoved his chest. "Get away from me, get out of my house. At least Max listens when I tell him I don't want to talk about it. He believes me when I tell him I'm not on drugs!"

"I believed you!"

"Not you didn't! And you tried to get me to tell Valenti! The man who wants to turn me over to the FBI!"

"I thought he could help! I wanted to help!"

"I don't need his help, and I don't need yours! I don't need you to protect me! I can take care of myself!" She shoved at him again, but this time he caught both of her hands in his and pulled her against his chest. Neither knew what happened. One second they were arguing, barely containing their voices, the next their mouths were crushed together. Maria struggled for a split second before melting into his arms, instead of trying to pull out of his grasp, she was trying to get closer.


	8. Chapter 8

**AURA: Trials and Tribulations: Chapter Eight**

Maria couldn't breathe, and she didn't care. All she wanted was more of Michael. She felt like her mind was going to explode, and a moan passed her lips and was swallowed by his. His arms were around her waist, his fingers digging into her skin. She had her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms around his shoulders.

She felt like she was falling, and when she hit the bed she realized she was. Michael was on top of her, his hands were everywhere. On the curve of her hip, smoothing down her thigh, then back up and around her waist. The kiss was passionate. Violent. It was the kind of kiss Maria had always dreamed about. That made her toes curl, the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, and her whole body hum. Maria couldn't get enough. Her hands dove under the back of Michael's shirt and she lightly scratched her nails down his back, eliciting a groan from him.

But he only kissed her harder. "Maria, honey?" Amy's voice came from the other side of the door. Maria shoved Michael off of her, and he fell off the bed and dove under it as quickly as he could. Maria launched herself off the bed and pulled open the door a crack. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine, why?" Maria said quickly.

"I thought I heard you yelling."

"Oh," Maria shook her head. "I stubbed my toe on my bed."

"Oh... okay." Amy frowned. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine mom, just tired. Alex... he got beat up today."

"What?!" Amy exclaimed.

"It's a long story, he's okay... can I talk to you about it in the morning? It was a really busy night at the restaurant."

"Okay." Amy nodded and leaned forward to kiss her daughter's forehead. "Are you getting sick? You're burning up."

"Oh... I'm fine. I was... dancing around my room when I stubbed my toe." Amy smiled a little. Glad that her daughter seemed to be going back to normal again.

"Okay. Well, get to bed soon."

"I will." Maria watched her mother walk down the hall before closing the door and turning around. Michael was struggling to crawl out from under her bed and pulled himself up and sat on the edge of her bed. And they just stared at each other. Maria's breathing was still labored, but Michael looked completely calm. And unreadable. "Get out." She said quietly, and noted the surprised look on his face.

"What?"

"I said, get out. You can't just... come in here, and... you didn't believe me. You accused me of being on drugs, you told someone a secret you promised me you wouldn't tell... and you come here accusing me of ... what exactly were you accusing me of doing with Max? Having a good time? He's tutoring me! Besides, it isn't any business of yours. And I want you out. Now."

Michael didn't move for a second, but then slowly stood up and walked to the window. "I never meant-"

"I don't want to hear it!" She snapped at him. "I just want you gone." She spun around, her back to him and heard him climb out of the window, and she heard his feet in the gravel below, walking away. Then the tears started to roll down her cheeks. She yanked off her uniform and crawled into bed and pulled the blankets over her head as she cried.

The next morning Tess was getting ready for school, her mind was on Kyle, and she couldn't help but smile, they were going out after school, driving out to the Bottomless lakes, and she couldn't wait. Tess stood in the kitchen fixing a bowl of cereal, in her own little world thinking about Kyle when she heard her father's voice. "Huh?"

"I said I wanted to talk to you." Tess nodded slightly.

"Okay." She said, wondering what he could want to talk to her about, and wondering if he had some how found out about her tendencies towards breaking and entering. Or if Deputy Hanson had told him about her and Kyle.

"How is everything?"

"What?" Tess shook her head. "What do you mean?"

"School, your friends."

"Everything is fine dad. Why?"

"I want you to stay away from Maria DeLuca."

"I am... what makes you even say that?"

"I've heard some things lately, rumors about her being into drugs."

"Yeah, I've heard that too. I think everyone has." Tess rolled her eyes. "Dad, I haven't hung out with Maria, since we were like I don't know... it's been a long time."

"Max has been."

"What?" Tess asked quickly. Max was hanging out with Maria? She knew Michael had been staying away from her, but now Max?

"And what is this I hear about Hanson finding you in the park with some boy?"

"Dad." Tess whined. "We were just looking at the stars, we had been working on some assignment for school." Her father frowned at her. "I didn't do anything. But... his mom died too, when he was really little." Her father's frown deepened.

"You should finish getting ready for school."

"Dad-"

"I'll see you later." He said and walked out of the room and Tess looked at her bowl of cereal and threw it in the sink angrily. He never talked about her mom. She just walked to talk about her, because she remembered so little about her.

Alex had spent all day with his head hung low, trying to conceal the bruises on his face. A few people had noticed, but no one had said anything. Except he had heard Paulie's crew of lackey's snicker at one point. He just wanted to day to be over. It was Friday, so he had all weekend to hide his face, and urge the bruises to heal a little quicker than normal. But he still had more than half a day to get through. It was between classes, and he was trying to get through the throngs of people, which had been going well so far. Until he ran into someone, at full speed, whoever he ran into, wasn't paying attention either. They both looked up at the same time, and began apologizing

"I'm so sorr-" Isabel cut herself off. Her mouth fell open and she stared at him. "What happened to your face?" She asked him quietly, unconsciously reaching out to touch his black eye. Her finger brushed the skin around it, and he flinched. She pulled her hand back quickly, and frowned.

"Paulie."

"What?!" Isabel's voice rose a few octaves.

"Apparently, he and his friends had a problem with me... not sure why." He shook his head.

Isabel's mouth fell open, and without another word she spun around and quickly hurried away. Leaving Alex staring after her. He knew that he should just get over her. She was beautiful, and smart, and popular. Why would she want a computer geek like him, when she could have any other guy she wanted? He continued on his way to class, thinking about how she shouldn't want him anyways, because he was a freak after all.

"Hey." Kyle gently grasped Tess' wrist and tugged her towards him.

"Hi." She smiled a little and kissed him softly.

"What's wrong?" He frowned, pushing a lock of hair back from her face.

"My dad... he... I really hate him sometimes." She buried her face in Kyle's chest and sighed. She felt his arms wrap around her waist and reveled in the warmth she felt.

"I understand that." He chuckled a little and gave her a squeeze.

"He won't talk about my mom, at all... does your dad?" Kyle stiffened a little and shook his head.

"No." Tess' jaw trembled.

"I'm sorry. It's like she's fading... I barely remember her, anything about her. And he won't talk about her. He took down all the pictures of her!" Tears filled her eyes and Kyle felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach. He hated lying to her. He really hated lying.

"Hey, it's okay." Kyle tightened his arms around her and pressed his lips against the top of her head. "It's okay." He tried to comfort her.

"Maria." She glanced up hearing her voice and narrowed her eyes.

"Go away."

"No, Maria-"

"Michael!" Maria exclaimed quietly. "Get away from me. I don't want anything to do with you." Before she had a chance to react he had her trapped up against the wall, close to her. His hands on either side of her.

"You don't mean that." He whispered in her ear.

"Yes I do." She whispered back.

"No, you don't."

"You have betrayed my trust... I told you... this huge secret, don't you get that?! You told her."

"She didn't believe me-"

"That doesn't make it okay! What if she tells her dad? Or someone else?! The secret spreads and..." Maria opened her mouth, and closed it. "And I end up in some government facility, being tested and poked and eventually killed. Don't you get that?"

"Maria I'm sor-"

"No, it's too late for that." Quickly Maria pushed his arm out of the way and darted down the hallway. Leaving Michael staring after her. He frowned. He screwed up, big time. He only wanted to help her, at first he hadn't been sure, he'd just needed to talk to someone. But now he wanted to help her, but she didn't want him to.

Isabel stalked towards the basketball court, where she knew she would find Paulie, and all his friends. "Paulie." She yelled as she walked towards him, she saw the smirk on his face.

"Isabel." He grinned. "Come back for more?"

Isabel's stomach did a flip, but she smiled at him. "Of course..." She got close to him, and then kneed him as hard as she could in the groin.

"What the-" He grunted out, grabbing himself, while trying to also grab her. But Isabel brushed him off and then punched him as hard as she could in the face. Blood spurted from his already broken nose, and he fell to the ground. A huge crowd had gathered and were all simply staring, some were cheering, egging her on.

"You ever lay a hand on me, or anyone I care about ever again, and I will do far worse."

"This is over Whitman?!" Paulie spit out some blood as he tried to get to his feet. "That little fre-" Isabel cut him off by shoving him back down with her foot.

"Alex Whitman is a gentleman, and you know what? He can get farther with me, than you'll ever dream." Isabel smirked down at him, before turning around and walking away. She made her way towards the office, and spotted just who she was looking for. "Caleb?" She smiled, and watched him stumble slightly. She knew she shouldn't use the fact that he was crushing on her for her advantage, but what else could she do? "I need a favor."

Alex sat in biology, Maria had abandoned him as a partner, in favor of Max Evans, and he honestly didn't blame her. Max understood it a whole hell of a lot better than he did. And he knew Maria was failing. But it left him without a partner. He frowned at the supplies in front of him. He didn't want to do any of it. He heard the door to the class room open, and a student walked in and handed the teacher a piece of paper.

"Alex Whitman, you're wanted in the principal's office." There was a chorus of Ohh's and Ahh's as he gathered his stuff and walked out of the class room.

Maria stared at the door after Alex left, concern filling her stomach. Worried, terrified for him. Alex was a good guy, he never got in to trouble. "Maria?" Max asked with a frown.

"What? Sorry, what?" She shook her head quickly and looked at him.

"You're not paying attention."

"I know...sorry." She glanced towards the door again.

"I'm sure it isn't anything serious."

"I know." She nodded, and began chewing on her lip.

As Alex walked he glanced up and saw Isabel leaning up against the wall, watching him.

"In trouble?" She asked, and he shrugged. Then he heard her laugh softly. "Thanks Caleb." She said to the guy who had come into the classroom with the note.

Alex froze and just looked at her. "What...?"

"Come with me." She said, and gestured towards the door at the end of the hallway.

"Why?"

"Because, I want you to?" She asked, suddenly feeling a little unsure. "Please?" Alex opened his mouth, and then closed it and nodded. He walked with her outside and to the jeep. They drove in silence for some time before either of them spoke. "I'm sorry." Isabel finally told him softly.

"Huh?" Alex looked at her confused. "For what?"

"For Paulie. For him... hurting you, because of me." She sighed. "If you just hadn't-"

"No." Alex interrupted her. "Don't say that. If I hadn't have stopped him, who knows what he would have done to you. I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you." He stared at her, and watched the expression on her face change. "I mean, when I could have stopped it." Alex felt his face warm and he looked away. "Besides, it isn't that bad."

"Thank you." She whispered. Turning her head away from the road for a moment to look at him. Her eyes were wet, and Alex wanted to hold her, to comfort her. Not that she would let him. But he wanted to.

"You're welcome." He said.

"I was thinking, maybe you should take a break from studying, you're catching up with everything really well, you passing all your classes now, except for Biology, but we're getting there. So I thought, you deserved a reward."

"A reward?" Maria's face lit up and she smiled at him. "What kind?"

"A movie?" Max offered, and she nodded.

"Sounds good."

"I was thinking when you get off work, we could rent one, and you could come over and I've got popcorn, candy, and drinks. What do you think?"

Maria simply looked at him for a moment. Was this... a date? No, of course not, they were just friends. "That sounds great, Max. I'd love to."

"Great." He nodded. "So, then, I'll pick you up when you get off work?"

"Okay." Maria agreed.

Isabel stopped the car out at the lakes and neither of them moved, they just stared out over the water. The place was practically abandoned. There were a few people, and elderly couple with their grand kids. A couple of guys in their mid-twenties. "I don't want to be... who I am anymore." Isabel spoke quietly. "The popular girl...I mean, I like being popular. But I hate how everyone watches my every move. I just want to be normal. Be able to go to school without makeup and it isn't made out to be some big crime. To be able to hang out with someone, just because they are nice, regardless of what anyone else thinks." She turned her head to look at him, and Alex was just staring at her, with his mouth hanging open slightly. "So, I decided that I don't care what people think. I'm going to do whatever I want to do. Wear what I want, and hang out with anyone I want."

"What..." Alex paused. "What does that have to do with me?"

Isabel couldn't help but laugh softly. "You're the one that I want to hang out with. You're nice, and you're real. You stood up for me. You... saved me."

"Isabel..." Alex frowned. She was only saying this, simply because she was still caught up in the horror of having been attacked. In a week, or maybe a month, she'd be back to her normal self and wouldn't want anything to do with him.

"You don't want to hang out with me?" She asked him, a slight look of confusion written across her face.

"No, it isn't that..." Alex looked out over the water. "I just don't think you realize what it means to hear you say that I'm the want you want... to hang out with. In another month you'll be back to wanting to hang out with those guys, the guys like Paulie. The sporty guys, the popular guys."

For a long time Isabel didn't say anything. They just sat there. "Isabel?" Alex asked, feeling a little worried, because she hadn't moved. He saw her hands gripping the steering wheel, and had an unreadable expression on her face.

"Wow. So that is what it's like...."

"What?"

"That is the first time I've ever put myself out, at all. And you turned me down."

"No, Isabel, it's not-" Alex sighed. "I've liked you for a long time, Isabel. I mean, really liked you. I'm the geek, and you're the beautiful popular girl, that everyone loves."

"So that means you won't even be my friend."

"No..." Alex frowned and ran his hands through his hair. "I just can't stand the idea of spending time with you, getting to know you, and then to have you decide that you don't want to break the strict clique code anymore."

"You're an ass." Isabel snapped at him. "I make my own decisions. I don't care what anyone says!" Isabel threw her hands up in the air and angrily climbed out of the car.

Alex quickly followed her as she stormed away from the car. "Isabel!" He called after her, jogging to catch up. "You're beautiful, and the idea of you, wanting to spend time with me, it's... it's unfathomable!" She stopped and stared at him.

"Why is that?"

"Do I have to repeat the part about you being beautiful?"

Isabel stared at him and then scoffed. "Oh... shut up!" Alex's mouth fell open. "Do you want to be my friend?"

"Of course."

"Then what is the problem!?" Alex stared at her, and then shrugged.

"I... there isn't one." And then she smiled. She smiled at him, for him. This vibrant happy smile, and Alex felt his heart pounding in his chest.

"Let's go for a walk." She told him, extending her hand out towards him, which he eagerly took.

The rest of the day went by quickly. Before Maria realized it she was locking up the restaurant and changing into her jeans. She glanced out the door and saw Max leaning against the side of his car waiting for her. "Hey." She smiled as she walked out to join him.

"Hey." He repeated and they climbed into the car. He drove the short distance to the video rental store and together they walked inside. "So, anything you want to see?" He asked her and Maria bit her lip. She was really far behind in the whole movie thing.

"We could rent something relatively new?" She suggested. When was the last time she'd watched a movie? Before Liz died.

"Sure." Max agreed, and they began walking along the wall of new releases picking one up here and there, reading the back, before putting it back. So far they hadn't found anything they wanted to see.

"Maria!" A small voice exclaimed and they both looked up quickly.

"Dylan." Maria frowned, and then smiled at him. "Hi." She was surprised that he even remembered her. He'd been so completely absorbed in some movie when she had been over there. A moment later Michael appeared around the corner. An awkward silence passed over them.

"Are you renting a movie?" Dylan asked her, and then continued without allowing her the chance to respond. "We're renting a movie, just the two of us! Guys night!" Dylan exclaimed. "No Sarah, no Mr. or Mrs. Pascal!" Then he frowned. "But Michael won't let me get the alien movies." The boy scowled up at Michael.

"Why not?"

"He says they aren't... appropriate." Dylan huffed.

"Well, why not Star Wars? The original ones?" She offered. "You'd get your aliens, and lots of action. Wookies, and Storm Troopers." Maria nodded, and Dylan's eyes lit up.

"Can we Michael!?"

"Yeah, fine." Michael grumbled, his eyes locked on Maria.

"Can you come over Maria?" Dylan asked. "And watch it with us?!"

"Oh." Maria flinched. She wasn't expecting that.

"No." Michael and Maria spoke in unison. Dylan pouted. "It probably isn't the best idea, sweetie." Maria told him softly, avoiding looking at either Michael or Max.

"Why not? You came over to help with Sarah."

"That was different." Maria sighed. Things were different. "I'm sorry." She told him. "It just isn't a good idea."

"Come on Dylan, lets go get the movie." Michael said, and grabbed his shoulder, steering him away. Maria stared after them and then glanced at Max.

"It's... complicated." She whispered.

"What is it with you and Michael?"

"Nothing. There is... nothing." She reached for a movie on the wall. "How about this?" She asked shoving it towards him. It was one she'd seen him eying. She had no idea what it was, nor did she care. She just wanted to be as far from Michael as possible.

They drove back to Max's house, and Maria sat near him on the couch, but she wasn't paying any attention, and Max could tell. The movie was some action packed stupid love story. He wasn't paying much attention to it either, he was just sitting there, wondering what was wrong with Maria. She had seemed so excited by the prospect of just hanging out, and now, it was like she wasn't even there. "Maria, what's wrong?" He asked and she flinched.

"What?"

"You're not paying any attention to the movie."

"I'm sorry." She apologized.

"Don't be sorry, just talk to me. What's going on?"

She opened her mouth and then snapped it shut again. "Nothing. It's... I can't." She hung her head and sighed. "I should just go home."

"Maria-"

"I can't talk about it Max."

"Is it because of Michael?" She looked at him and sighed again.

"I should go home."

"Do you have feelings for him?"

"He betrayed my trust. So none of it matters, because I can't trust him."

"You can trust me." Max told her, reaching out to gently grasp her hand. "You can talk to me, Maria."

"Please take me home." She whispered.

The drive to Maria's house was silent. Max parked the car in front of her house, and grabbed her hand. "Maria, wait."

"Max-"

"I know you think that you can't tell me whatever it is... whatever this big secret is... but you can trust me."

"It isn't that... I just don't want you getting hurt because you're involved."

Max stared at her for a moment. She was this sweet girl. And he felt bad that she was hurting so much. He cupped her face, and felt the wetness on her cheeks. She was crying. "But, I want-" Max paused, unsure of what exactly he did want. He wanted to be her friend, he wanted to help her. But right now, he wanted a lot more too.

Suddenly he closed the distance between them and kissed her softly on the lips.

Maria was reeling. She couldn't help but kiss Max back. Their lips mashed together gently. It was so different from kissing Michael. Not bad, but different. His fingers stroked her cheek, held the back of her head, and his lips moved against hers. She had her hands on his chest, and then a moment later she used them to push him back. "Max..." Maria shook her head quickly and climbed out of the car, not giving him a chance to say a word she slammed the door and ran up to the front door.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

"Maria?" She looked up and saw her mother standing there, a concerned look on her face. "Are you okay?"

"No... Max Evans..." Maria opened her mouth and then closed it and shook her head. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she buried her face in her hands.

Amy assumed the worst instantly. "What did he do?" She ground out. "I'll kill him."

"No... no mom, he... he just kissed me." Amy paused for a moment. 

"I'll still kill him." She walked over to her daughter and cupped her face. "What's wrong, baby."

"Michael kissed me, yesterday."

"Okay." Amy frowned. She didn't like hearing about her daughter kissing. But just so long as it ended with kissing. "You need to catch me up on all of this honey, really."

"I... I like Michael, but he..." Maria's face crumbled. She couldn't tell her mom. "He hurt my feelings. And Max... was in love with Liz." A full sob escaped her lips. "But he's been helping me, and he's nice, and... sweet, and... I only like him as a friend."

"Oh Maria." Amy pulled her daughter into her arms and hugged her close. She realized this was the start of it all. Her baby girl getting her heart broken. She'd been lucky so far, Maria had only ever had Alex, and they were practically brother and sister. "It'll be okay. It all works out in the end."

Max let himself into the house with his head hung low. He shouldn't have kissed her. He knew it. He scared her. What if she never spoke to him again?

"Max." He looked up and saw his sister sitting on the couch, with a carton of ice cream in her lap.

"What's wrong?" He knew something was up with her. But the night other night she had refused to tell him.

"Haven't you heard yet? I'm sure it's all over school by now."

"What?" Max frowned and walked over to sit beside her.

"Paulie, attacked me the other night, after the game."

"What?!" Max exclaimed in a rage.

"We were leaving the Crashdown, he pulled me down the alley... and didn't realize no means no." She sighed.

"Did he... Isabel did he..." Max was livid. He was going to call Michael and they were going to track Paulie down and kill him, slowly.

"No, that's the thing... Alex Whitman stopped him. Last night, Alex got beat up, pretty bad by Paulie and his goons." Isabel sighed. "He got beat up because he protected me. And then... I found out and I went and beat the crap out of Paulie... in front of half the school."

"Wow." Max stared at his sister. "I guess you don't need Michael and I to fight your battles anymore."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Oh... shut up, Max." She looked at her brother and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I kissed Maria." He told her, running his hands over his face.

"What?!" Isabel gasped out. "What were you thinking? Aside from the fact that Michael has had a thing for her since... forever. There is something really weird going on with her. I don't trust her Max."

"I know... but, she's a really good person. I don't know what the big secret is. But Michael knows. But that is the thing, she said there couldn't be anything with Michael... so maybe I have a chance." Max looked at his sister, he knew she could see the desperation on his face.

"Is this about Liz?" Isabel asked softly.

"No. Of course not." Max shook his head quickly.

"Are you sure? I mean, Maria was Liz's best friend. And because you didn't go for it with Liz like you wanted to... and you lost your chance, you think that you should go for it with Maria? Because she really doesn't seem like your type. Or does it have anything to do with Tess breaking your heart? And the fact that I hear she's dating that new kid."

"Tess didn't break my heart. Hurt me yes, I love her, the way I always will. She is my friend." Max sighed. "The new kid? Kyle?" He frowned.

"You didn't answer my question. Why Maria?"

"Because, I've been spending time with her. She's sweet, and I like to be able to be the one that makes her laugh. It had been months since I'd seen her so much as smile. And I can make her laugh, and smile and..." Max sighed. "Run terrified for her front door." He ran his hands over his face again and left them there. "What do I do Iz?"

"I don't know Max." She reached over and touched his back. "But, I really think that you should stay away from Maria. There is something dangerous about her."

Early the next morning, Maria was at the restaurant. She had a few tables, they were all happily eating their alien themed breakfasts and sipping their coffee. So she plopped herself down at the counter and pulled out one of her books for school and decided to try and get some work done. But as soon as she opened her book she heard the bell above the door go off. "Damn." She muttered under her breath and spun on the stool. "Welcome to the Crash-" She cut herself off seeing Tess walking towards her. "Can I help you?"

"Stay away from Max."

"I'm sensing Deja-vu. Didn't we have this conversation before? Oh yeah, that was Michael." Maria stood up and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Look, you're into drugs, or whatever it is you're doing. Max is a good person. With a good family, and good friends, and he has a really bright future ahead of him. And hanging out with you, isn't going to help him. You're just going to drag him down with you."

"You're right." Maria told her quietly.

Tess stood there, stunned for a moment. "Then you'll do what is right, and stop hanging out with him? Put some distance between the two of you?"

"Not that is any of your business, but I already was going to. I don't want to hurt Max, any more than you want to see him hurt. Now get out of my restaurant." Tess nearly faltered. She hadn't expected that. She only wanted to protect her friends. And Maria was dangerous. Her father had even said so. Quickly she left the diner and headed back home, thinking over everything. Thinking about what Michael had told her about Maria.

"You look deep in thought." Tess looked up hearing her father's voice.

"Yeah... just thinking."

"About?"

"Maria DeLuca."

"I told you to stay away from her."

"I am." Tess shook her head. "Its just... there is something really weird about her. There is a rumor she's on drugs, or dealing drugs or something. But... Michael told me something a while ago. Something that he said she told him. Her explanation for everything." Tess frowned. "Never mind, its silly."

"Tell me, Tess. You know, there is truth to every rumor."

"Dad." Tess rolled her eyes. "He said that she tried to convince him that she was... an alien. I mean... ridiculous, right? How could she think Michael would be that stupid? To believe her? I know that Grandpa had been into investigating all that stuff, but that was after things got bad, and... you know, he wasn't all there."

"Stay away from her, Tess. Please."

"Dad-"

"Promise me that you will stay away from her."

"Of course. What is going on?" Tess asked concerned. "Dad?"

"I don't know, but that is what I'm trying to figure out."

At school on Monday Maria felt depressed. She had avoided Max's phone calls, and Alex's. She didn't want to deal with any of it. But Monday came and she had no choice. She was standing at her locker when she saw Max walk up out of the corner of her eye. "Hey Maria... can we ... talk?"

"Sure." She nodded slightly grabbing the books she needed for her next class before closing her locker. She followed Max the short distance down the hallway where he pulled open the door to the eraser room and pulled her inside.

"Look Maria, about Friday... me kissing you... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have... I mean, I liked it, but..."

"Max." Maria interrupted him. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have let it get this far." His brow furrowed. "I needed help with catching up in all my classes, and you were this smart guy. I shouldn't have let you think-" She bit her lip as the realization crossed his face.

"You were using me."

"Max-"

"No." Max shook his head. "I get it. I understand it all now. I knew you wouldn't ever have any sort of interest in me. But you know I never took you for a manipulative bitch."

Maria's mouth fell open. "Max."

"I was such an idiot." He scoffed and then quickly walked out of the eraser room, not giving her the chance to say anything.

Maria watched as Max took off down the hallway and saw Michael standing a few feet away. Tears welled up in her eyes and she bolted the other way down the hall. She felt like such a jerk. But it was better this way. It had to be. She needed to find Alex and talk to him. She needed him more than anything right then. But as she headed down the hall towards his first period class she froze. She saw Alex. And he was with Isabel. They were smiling at each other, talking, laughing, and as they walked Isabel slid her hand into his, and smiled at him when he stumbled slightly.

All Maria wanted right then and there was to disappear. She closed her eyes and wished she could become invisible. Vanish off the face of the Earth. Everything would be so much simpler then. "Maria." Alex's voice caused her to open her eyes. He and Isabel were standing there looking at her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fantastic." She nodded. "I'm just not feeling great. I'm going to go home, could you get my homework for me?"

"Yeah..." Alex nodded. "Of course. You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. Just a bug or something." Alex frowned at her, knowing they had never been sick before. "I'll be fine by tomorrow, I'm sure, twenty-four hour flu maybe." And then she walked away.

Alex's brow furrowed as she walked away, leaving out one of the side doors. "Alex, we'll be late to class." Isabel reminded him, and he nodded.

"Okay." He said with a small smile.

Maria climbed into her car as the tears began to fall. She was going to loose Alex to Isabel. She lost Max to Tess. And Michael... she lost because she wasn't willing to forgive him. She had no one left. Maria drove her car out to the desert where she had gone so many times. Where they had found them so many years ago. She pulled the car to a stop and climbed out, looking around before she started walking out across the dead wasteland. There was a rock formation not far away. She began trudging up the rocky cliff. Hoping and wishing she would find some answers. To anything. It didn't matter what it was. She just needed answers. "Why did you do this to us!?" She screamed out loudly as she reached the edge of the cliff.

"Why?!" She sobbed and sunk down to her knees.

"Maria?" Maria jumped to her feet and spun around and saw Michael walking towards her.

"What are you doing here?" She choked out.

"I followed you." He told her.

"Leave me alone!" She demanded. "How hard is it to get that through your head? I don't want anything to do with you."

"I don't believe you."

Maria flinched slightly. "Its true."

"You're a bad liar."

"Everything is all screwed up." She whispered and Michael just looked at her with soft eyes.

"I want to help. Let me help." He begged her softly.

"You can't." Her voice cracked. "It is only a matter of time... it's getting worse." Maria closed her eyes against the wetness.

"Maria-" He gently grasped her wrist, and she looked up at him.

"I'm afraid for my mom... what if they... come after her?"

"They don't know about you, so how-"

"They do. They know about me, and they knew about Liz too." She shook her head quickly. "No. I am not talking about this with you!" She started walking back down the rocky slope trying to get around Michael. "Get out of my way!"

"No." Michael told her, but took a slight step backwards.

"Move!" She yelled and slapped her hand against the rock wall. A loud grating sound echoed in their ears. They both froze and stared at each other. "Whoa." Maria's mouth fell open as she watched a doorway open up in the rock.

"How did you-" Michael pointed to the opening. Michael peered inside, and found a somewhat vast cave. They both quickly walked inside, looking around.

"This is...where we were born." Maria whispered softly spotting the set of four pods against one of the walls.

"But there are four." Michael watched Maria as she crossed the distance to them and touched them lightly. "Kyle." She gasped out seeing his face, much younger, inside of the pod.

"Kyle? Harding?"

"There were four of us..." Maria couldn't fathom it. There were four of them. Kyle. Did he know about them? Did he know that he wasn't alone? "I have to talk to him." She whispered, but couldn't bring herself to move. Her fingers glided over the empty pods. She remembered climbing out of it. Seeing Liz and Alex there.

"Maria." Michael said quietly walking over to join her next to the pods. "Please believe me when I tell you how sorry I am. I never meant... I am very sorry I told Tess. I never meant to hurt you."

"But you did." Maria turned her head to look at him. "So much."

"I know, and I am sorry. How can I possibly make it up to you? Please, let me."

"I don't know. Michael... I trusted you with this really big life threatening secret..."

"And I screwed up. Please let me try to gain your trust again. I'm begging you."

Maria chewed on her lip and then slowly after what seemed like an eternity, reached out and grasped his hand gently in hers, as they stood before the empty pods.

Jim walked into Amy DeLuca's shop. If he convinced Amy that Maria was on drugs, he could be able to get her consent to send Maria away, to get help. Or to an FBI testing facility. But if Amy believed Maria was getting treatment she would have some closure.

"Jim." Amy smiled faintly at him as he walked him.

"Amy." The frown on his face deepened. "I hate to bother you, but do you have a moment?"

"Of course." She nodded. "Is this about Maria?"

"It is." He removed his cowboy hat from his head and hung his head for a moment. "I was speaking to Tess this morning. She told me that Maria admitted to her that she is using drugs." Amy faltered.

"No. She... wouldn't." She shook her head quickly. "Maria wouldn't do that."

"Amy, I'm very sorry. I looked into some facilities that might be able to help her..."

"No." Amy stepped backwards quickly. "I can't send her away. She's...my daughter. She's all I have. I can't just send her away!"

"Amy, I think that going away may be the best thing for her at this point. After Liz's death, and all of the trouble she's been having with school, I can see it becoming too much for her. But if she were to go away, maybe she could get a new perspective on life."

"Jim, I can't..."

"Give it some thought Amy, consider it. I think it really would be best for her."

"I need... I need to think." Amy ushered him out the door and locked it behind him before she sunk to the floor, crying softly.

Jim could hear Amy crying from the other side of the door and he sighed. Would he really do this? Take that woman's only child from her? But if she knew the truth, she wouldn't want a murderous killer in her home.

"You have to make a move." Ed Harding, Nesado, demanded when he spotted Kyle sitting on the couch, watching TV. "The FBI is going to get their hands on them if you do not do something! This is your responsibility!"

"No! It's yours. You're the one that screwed up. You weren't there when they came out. You're the reason my mate is dead. I have no more destiny."

"You still have a destiny." He growled, and Kyle laughed.

"With who? Maria? She's my sister. Or Alex? I'll take Tess, thanks." The TV exploded suddenly and Kyle rolled his eyes and stood up. "What do you want me to do? Walk up and just say 'Hi, I'm the fourth alien, by the way." You're the one that told me to befriend them."

"And you haven't done that! At all! You've been too busy off screwing that pathetic human."

"Don't talk like Tess about that." Kyle yelled.

"Confront Ava and Zan. Or Tess won't even be a concern, ever again."

"Stay away from Tess." Kyle grumbled and stormed down to his bedroom, slamming the door as hard as he could behind him.

Michael walked Maria back to her car and watched as she leaned up against the hood, watching the sun beginning to set. "You should get home, it's getting late. Amy will worry."

"So will Mr. and Mrs. Pascal."

"Yeah." He scratched his eyebrow. "It's a weird thing... having someone actually care about my well being."

"They do." Maria bowed her head. "I do." She whispered. "Which is why I really think you should stay way from me. It's just going to get worse from here on out."

"I'm not going anywhere. And I'm going to earn your trust back. Somehow." Michael leaned down and brushed a kiss against her cheek. "Go home, drive safe."

"You too." Maria nodded and got in the car. She drove back home, her mind drifting. Trying to wrap around the fact that there were not just three, but four of them. Kyle. He was one of them. And Michael... wouldn't give up. She wanted to trust him. But it was hard. After he had told Tess... She sighed and pulled up in front of the house and walked inside. "Mom, I'm home." She called and headed for the kitchen. Her mom was always there this time of night. "Mom?" She asked spotting her sitting at the kitchen table, with her head in her hands. "Mom? Are you okay?"

"Where were you?" Amy asked, and Maria could hear the tears in her voice.

"I was... with Michael. Out in the desert. We weren't... doing anything..." Maria bit her lip and walked around to sit across from her mom. "I swear, mom. We were just talking." Suddenly Amy grabbed Maria's wrists and upturned her arms. "Mom, what are you doing?"

"What kind of drugs are you doing? Pot? Heroine? Meth!?"

"Mom!" Maria retracted quickly, yanking her arms from her grasp. "I'm not-"

"Don't lie to me anymore!" Amy cried. "You're always lying to me!"

"Mom. I-"

"Go to your room!" Amy dropped her head into her hands again and began to cry as she picked up her phone. "Jim? Can you get into contact with any of those rehab places?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Maria woke up early the next morning and quickly got ready for school. She wanted to avoid any possible contact with her mother for now. She was hurt. Pained that her mother wouldn't even listen. It was true. She was always lying. But it was for her own safety. Maria paused at her bedroom door, listening for her mother, and heard her in the kitchen, so Maria took her chance and bolted out of her bedroom, down the hall and out the front door. She let out a breath once she was outside and began walking towards school.

Maria was walking down the hallway when she spotted Kyle standing at his locker. "Hey." She said stopping next to him.

"Oh, hey Maria. How are you? I've heard... things. You doing okay?"

She nodded. "Just lots of rumors. I was wondering, I wanted to talk to you about something. Are you busy after school?"

Kyle paused, wondering if she had figured it all out, and how. And also what exactly he was going to tell Tess. She absolutely hated Maria right now. "No. We can talk. Did you want to meet someplace?"

"Would you just meet me at your car after class?"

"Sure, of course." He agreed.

"Thanks, I'll see you later." Maria said and then quickly left, heading for her first period class.

Michael walked up to his friends sitting at a table outside at lunch. "Hey." He said straddling the bench.

"She's a bitch." Max grumbled to Tess.

"I know." She agreed.

"Who is?" Michael asked making a face. Maxwell never talked like that, about anyone. No matter what they had done.

"Maria." Isabel interjected.

"What? Why?" Michael asked, confused. Last he knew things were great with Max and Maria. The thought made him cranky.

"She is a liar, she's manipulative and she's on drugs." Tess shook her head, then looked at Isabel. "And you're suddenly dating her best friend."

Isabel blushed, uncharacteristically. "They are barely even talking anymore."

"She isn't on drugs." Michael snapped.

"Oh, what? Now you believe her other story?" Tess laughed, and Michael just stared. "Michael!" She gasped.

"What other story?" Max asked.

"Nothing. Tess. Drop it."

"What did she do to you Michael? Are you high too? How can you believe that she is-"

"Drop. It. Tess." Michael ground out.

"What is going on?" Isabel asked confused.

"It is nothing." Michael said, not taking his eyes off of Tess.

"Can we all not be fighting? It would really be nice." Isabel begged softly.

"No one is fighting." Tess said.

Isabel just sighed. "I need to go meet Alex."

"Traitor." Tess murmured.

"Tess!" Isabel frowned.

"Tess, stop it." Max's own frown deepened. Something serious was going on, and he and his sister were clueless.

"I'll see you guys later." Isabel got up and walked away.

"Can I trust you two not to kill each other?" Max asked.

"Sure." Michael said.

Tess agreed. "Yeah."

He sighed and stood up. "I'll see you later." After he was gone Tess told Michael. "I can't believe you. She is lying. Why can't you see that? There is no such thing as aliens."

"I never said there was."

"I can tell from the look on your face. You believe her."

"Tess, honestly, all I know is that some things have happened that were pretty spectacular and I don't know how to explain them."

"Drugs." Michael scowled at her.

"It has nothing to do with drugs."

"I don't trust her. She isn't a good person."

"Tess, I love you, you're my best friend. But you have no idea how wrong you are about her. Just leave her alone, and forget anything I ever told you about her." And with that he stood up and walked away, leaving Tess alone.

After school, Kyle was already waiting for Maria at his car. He had lied to Tess about having to run some errands for his dad before he was picking her up for dinner. He really just hoped she wouldn't find out that he lied. "Hey."

"Hey." She echoed.

"So where are we going?"

"Lets take second out past the lakes."

"Okay." He agreed and they climbed inside.

"I want you to do something for me." Maria said as she led Kyle up the cliff.

"Okay..." Kyle said cautiously. Maria grabbed a hold of his hand and pressed it to the rock. Exactly where she had laid her hand before, and caused the rocks to open. Nothing happened. "Maria?" He asked and she shook her head.

"But I thought... I was sure..." She shook her head again. "Never mind, I was wrong." She took a step backwards and then turned and started walking down the path.

"Maria." He called after her.

"Sorry for dragging you out here Kyle. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Maria. Stop." He insisted. She sighed and turned around.

"Look, Kyle I-" She froze and saw him moved his hand back up to the rock and a second later the rocks pulled apart and the opening appeared.

"How did you figure it out?" He asked her.

"I was out here yesterday. It opened." She made her way back up towards him. "I saw the pods. Got a flash. It was you, I just knew it was you." She stepped inside the cave with him.

"I've known about you guys since we got here. I just didn't know how to tell you. And then Liz... and all the other stuff that has been going on with you, I wasn't sure how." He sighed.

"We?" Maria's brow furrowed.

"Nescedo. He is our protector. Pretends to be my father." Maria sunk down on a rock against the wall. "Have you told Alex?"

"I wanted to be sure. Plus, things between us have... changed. It isn't the same. He's too busy lying to me and fawning over his new girlfriend."

"Lying?"

"The FBI knew about Liz. They know about me. Sheriff Valenti knows. He convinced my mom that I am on drugs. He is turning her against me. I really need some help. I used to be able to rely on Alex for everything, but lately..."

"Geeze Maria, if I had known I would have... I wish I would have done something sooner. We will fix this." He tried to reassure her.

"Alex hacked into the FBI computer and was going to delete all the files."

"We will talk with Nescedo. Everything will be okay."

"Thank you Kyle. So much. I really need someone I can actually trust right now." Maria couldn't even begin to describe how thankful she was right then.

"I am here, and I won't lie to you. I promise you that." Kyle glanced at his watch. "I should get home, Tess and I have plans. I'll drive you home."

"Thanks." Maria walked with Kyle back out of the cave and down the path to his car.

"Talk to Alex, and then we should all meet." Kyle told Maria as she climbed out of the car.

"Okay. I'll try." But Maria wasn't sure if Alex would even talk to her. He seemed so absorbed Isabel. Maria wasn't sure if she was even important to Alex anymore. She sighed and headed inside the house and saw her mother walk out of the kitchen.

"Where have you been?" She demanded.

"I was with a friend." Maria told her.

"Who?"

"Kyle Harding."

"I don't know who that is. Who is he? What were you doing?"

Maria sighed and pushed a lock of hair back from her face. "We were talking. No drugs involved, mom." Amy scrutinized her daughters features. "Mom, please believe me. I am begging you."

"I am just not sure what to think Maria..."

"Please, trust me. I am not lying about this."

"But you have been lying to me." Amy threw her hands up. "You've been lying for months!"

"I am trying to protect you." Maria yelled at her.

"From what? Maria! You are sixteen years old!"

"I have been trying to find my birth parents!" Maria screamed suddenly. Her mother froze. Amy had often suspected Maria would want to know about them, to find them. But she had always hoped that Maria was happy enough with her that she wouldn't care about them anymore.

Maria swallowed hard. It was a half truth. Another lie. She hung her head and started to cry. "Mom, I swear, I'm not on drugs. I've never done any drugs. Your aromatherapy oils are the only thing I've ever sniffed. I've never taken any drugs, not even Tylenol! I thought you knew me better than that."

"Maria-" Amy was taken aback. Maria was her daughter, she had thought she knew her. But over the last few months, she didn't know what to think anymore. "I do trust you-"

"No you don't! You accuse me of doing drugs! You believe Valenti! He doesn't know me! He doesn't know anything about me! And you took his word over mine! I thought you were supposed to believe me! He's a liar!"

"Now Maria-"

"No!" Maria shook her head. She was sick of her mother not believing her. She was pretty sure this wasn't going to help anything, but she couldn't stop herself. "He lies! He wants you to not trust me!"

"Why? What are you talking about Maria? Why would he do such a thing? He's the sheriff."

"He's an evil man! He just wants to hurt me."

"What?" Amy's mouth fell open. "What do you mean hurt you? Hurt you how!?" Suddenly Amy was livid. She knew her daughter would never do drugs, so why had she so easily believed Jim?

"It is true! He is making up these stories to hurt me, to hurt you."

"Why?" Amy shook her head. "No, Maria, why would he do that?"

"Because he is a bad, bad person."

Amy gently grabbed her daughter's shoulders. "Maria, this doesn't make sense."

"I know, mom, I know it doesn't make any sense, but please, I am begging you, you have to trust me. I love you, more than anything else, and I just want to keep you safe. I'm sorry for lying to you, if there was any other way..."

"Are they... have they contacted you?"

"No, but I am trying to figure things out, about who I am...I want to know the truth about why I was left in the desert." Amy turned around and walked away from her daughter, and slowly sunk down into the chair at the table.

"Mom." Maria followed her. "Mom, what is it?"

"When you find them... you'll leave me."Amy hung her head and stared at the table.

"What?" Maria gasped. "No! Mom, you are my mother. You are my mom. Those other people, who... they didn't want me. You wanted me, and you loved me, and raised me, and I wouldn't give you up for anything in the entire universe, mom. I love you. You are my mom, by blood or not, you are my mom." Maria sunk down into the chair closest to her mom and clasped her hands over Amy's.

Amy looked up at her daughter, torn. "You have every right to know about them, and who they were, and why they did... what they did. But, Maria, I'm afraid for you. Why would Jim say things like that about you? Why would he be so hell bent on convincing me that you were on drugs?"

Maria swallowed hard. "Because, he thinks I'm a bad person."

"Why would he think that?"

"Because of Tess."

"But you two used to be such good friends, before... before Michelle passed away."

"I know, I know that, I remember that. I don't think Tess does. And all the lies that have been spread about me, I'm pretty sure they all came from Tess." Maria really didn't know what to do about the Valenti situation.

Amy frowned. She did not like that. She did not like the idea of someone hurting her daughter. "Maria, please know that you can come to me. I'm sorry for the way I acted, but, why wouldn't I believe him, he's the sheriff." Amy reached out and touched her daughter's face. "I love you, and I want you to be happy. But I need you to be honest with me about all of this. I am okay with you looking into this, but you have to be honest."

"Okay," Maria nodded quickly. "I will mom, I promise. I won't lie to you anymore." Maria hated that in her promise, she was lying. She would have no choice but to lie to her mother in the future. There was no getting around it, because she could never know the actual truth. But Maria really hoped that things would get better from here on out. Now that she knew about Kyle. And their protector, Nescedo. "Is it okay if I go over to Alex's for a little while? I need to talk to him. I'll be home before dark."

Amy nodded slightly. "Of course, Maria, call me if you'll be late."

"I will." Maria told her, and stood up before bending down to hug her mother tightly. "I love you."

"I love you too, be safe." Maria grabbed her purse and walked out the front door. Amy simply stared after her. She knew Maria was still lying. What was this horrible secret that she couldn't know? Maria wasn't doing drugs. Amy knew that, but it had been the easiest lie to believe. So if it wasn't drugs, what exactly was her daughter involved in?

Kyle pulled the car up in front of Tess' house and quickly walked up to the door. He knocked and smiled. He hated lying to Tess. But what else could he do? The door opened and he faltered slightly seeing the Sheriff standing there. There was a deep scowl on his face. "Can I help you?" He demanded.

"Uh... is... Tess here?" Kyle swallowed hard. He'd seen the sheriff plenty of times, but never in person. He could understand people's fear of him.

"No."

"Dad!" Tess exclaimed and pushed past him. "Hey, Kyle." Tess smiled, and Kyle couldn't help but grin back at her. Jim made a disapproving sound. "Dad." Tess snapped shooting him a dirty look. "This is Kyle, and we're leaving." Tess grabbed her purse and Kyle's hand and dragged him down the walkway away from the house and towards his car.

"Don't be late!" Tess heard her dad yell after has she climbed into the car. "Hi." She smiled at Kyle when he climbed behind the wheel.

"Hey." He smiled back at her.

"So you got all that stuff done that you needed to?" He nodded and she leaned across the center console and gave him a quick kiss. "Good, lets get out of here."

"You want to eat now? Or later?"

"I was thinking maybe we could grab some snacks, and then go out to this place, sort of a ways out, but there is a beautiful view..."

"Sounds great." Kyle kissed her again and pulled away from the house.

Maria drove the Jetta to the Whitman's house and walked around the side gate to Alex's window. She poked her head around to peek in, and was thankful that Isabel wasn't in there. She raised her hand and knocked softly on the glass. "Alex. We need to talk."

Alex suddenly looked up from his computer, a confused look on his face before he pushed open the window. "Maria? What are you doing? We do have a front door you know."

"Yeah, yeah, move." She said and waited for him to get out of the way so she could hop in the window. "I need to talk to you about something."

"I needed to talk to you too." Maria as pretty sure she wouldn't like what he had to say. Probably something close to 'Now that I'm with Isabel I can't be friends with you.'

"Me first. Kyle Harding."

"Huh?" Alex shook his head. "What about him?"

"He has a secret too." Alex's look of confusion deepened. "He's like us, Alex. I went out to the desert where we were found. I found this cave, inside of a rock. There were four pods. One for me, one for Liz, one for you, and... one was Kyle's."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I saw him. I took him out there, after school, I didn't tell him why. But he opened it. He knew. He's known about us. His dad, isn't really his dad, he's our protector."

Alex sunk down on the edge of his bed and looked at Maria. "But..." He frowned. Was it true? Could it be really possible? "I deleted all the FBI's files. I did it at the library, you know, just in case, so they couldn't really track it back to any one person."

"Deleted?" Maria sunk down beside him. "It's all gone?"

"Everything. All the information they had, about you, and Liz. It's all gone." A strange sound came out of Maria's mouth. A mix between a gasp, a sigh of relief, and a sob. She buried her face in her hands, and Alex carefully put his arm around her shoulders. "Everything is going to be okay now."

"Thank God." Maria choked out, and hugged Alex tightly. After a long time she raised her head and looked at him again. "Well, everything except for your girlfriend hating me, Kyle's girlfriend hating me, hell half of the school hates me right now, I think."

Alex sighed. "We'll work on that." He brushed some hair back from Maria's face. "I promise. Everything is going to be okay now. I'm sorry for everything Maria. For shutting you out, turning my back on you. All of it."

"Your forgiven, as long as you never do it to me again." Alex smiled at her.

"I promise. You're still my best friend, Maria." Maria gave him a little nod.

"I should get home. Promised mom." She stood up and headed for the window again. "Good luck, with Isabel. I hope it works out." She told him. She wanted things to be like they used to be. Where she and Alex could spend hours together, just being themselves. But now, Alex was dating someone who detested her. She wasn't sure she could trust him, at least not like before. Everything was changed.

Maria headed back home, had dinner with her mom, and then stole away to her bedroom, to work on her homework. Now that she no longer had a tutor she had a lot of work to do. She sat down on the floor, leaning against her bed with her books and binders spread out around her and got to work.

Hours passed silently. Her mom had poked her head in to tell her she was going to bed, and Maria was pretty sure she was also checking up to make sure Maria really was in her bedroom like she'd said she would be. She sighed heavily and tossed her math book across the room. "I'm so done." She muttered kicking the stuff out of her way as she stood up and headed into her bathroom for a hot shower.

She climbed out, wrapped in a towel and sat down at her vanity table. Maria frowned at her own reflection. She hadn't been taking very good care of herself lately. She looked down at her little vials of oils and smile. Cedar oil. That had always helped. She pulled the lid off and inhaled deeply. Who needed drugs? The scent was so strong in her nostrils it stung. She put the lid back on it, and set it back down before changing into her pajamas. Maria started to pick up her books, and stuff them into her bag when she heard a tapping. She jerked her head up quickly, her eyes focused on her window.

Maria quickly yanked open the window. "What?" She asked in a hushed voice. She really hadn't expected to see Michael at her window.

"I wanted to see how it went with Kyle, after school." Maria frowned at him.

"Fine." She told him and started to close the window.

"Maria." Michael grumbled shoving the window back up. "What happened?"

"My mom is going to kill us both if she hears you, that's what is happening." Michael frowned back at her.

"Then let me in."

"What?!" She shrieked quietly. "No. I remember what happened the last time! You're not going to set foot in my bedroom." But he didn't listen to her and climbed in anyways. "Michael." Maria hissed. She watched as he closed the window and sat down on the floor, occupying the place she had been earlier that evening. He patted the floor next to him.

"Tell me what happened with Kyle." She just stared at him, completely lost for words. But she sunk down beside him and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"I was right." She told him quietly. "He's like me, and Alex. And his father is actually our protector. And Alex deleted all the FBI files. And my mom finally stopped believing Valenti. Of course I couldn't tell her everything, but she knows that I'm not on drugs, and she's going to start trusting me again."

"Wow." Michael murmured. "Sounds like a lot happened today." Maria nodded slowly.

"I think that things are finally going to go back to a semi-quasi normal. It won't be perfect, but it will be better than it has been." They sat there for a long moment, neither speaking. Michael carefully snaked his arm around Maria's shoulders and she willingly leaned into him.

"Everything is going to be okay." He reassured her.

"I'm not sure it really will be." Maria told him. Michael pressed his lips against the top of her head and just held her in silence. They didn't move, they didn't speak. The only sound was their soft breathing. Maria felt relaxed. Michael had hurt her by betraying her trust, but he was trying. He was trying really hard to fix it, and she was thankful for that.

"I should probably head home." Michael finally spoke, quietly.

"Yeah." Maria nodded and pulled back, and stood up with him. He headed for the window and easily slid out. He turned back and Maria was leaning down so she could pull the window shut. Quickly he leaned his head back in and kissed her cheek. "See you at school tomorrow." He said and quickly jogged away.

Maria stared after him lost in a moment of shock. She shut her window and crawled into bed. Letting the exhaustion of the days events take her into a deep dreamless sleep.

Tess snuggled closer to Kyle on the blanket that they had laid out on the ground. It was so quiet. They could hear bugs, and the wind. But other than that, it was silent. They had driven for an hour and snacked on a bag of chips, and some donuts as they sat on the blanket. The sun sunk lower and lower, casting beautiful colors in the sky. They laid there together and watched. They had talked about everything and nothing. Kyle told her about traveling so much, and never having anyone other than his father. Tess talked about her mom, and how much she missed her.

"I should get you home." Kyle said, pressing his lips against her temple. "It's a long drive, I wouldn't be surprised if your dad already has an A.P.B on me, for kidnapping his little girl."

"I'm not ready to go home." Tess told him, tilting her head back and looking up at him. "I want to stay here, with you." She pressed her lips firmly against his, and Kyle groaned. "You're going to get me arrested." He muttered before claiming her lips in another kiss.

Tess pulled back a little to look at his face. "But would it be worth it?"

"Hell yes." He said and pulled her on top of him, and pulled her mouth down against his.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

"Oh he is going to kill me!" Tess hissed, anxiously tapping her foot.

"Was it worth it?" Kyle cast her a sideways glance. He was breaking a few speed limits in his attempt to get Tess home that much sooner. A few minutes had turned into a few hours. And they both had loved every second of it. He could see her lips were bright red, and raw from their kisses. Her hair was a disaster, and he was pretty sure as he looked at her, that her shirt was inside out.

"Of course it was." She flashed him a smile, and then yanked down the visor to look at her reflection. "Oh, like it isn't completely obvious that we were out there making out for hours. He'll never believe me when I tell him that's all we did." Tess tried to smooth her hair in vain.

"Your shirt is inside out." Kyle told her, and slowed the car down as he turned down her street. Tess yelped and quickly contorted herself, yanking the shirt off, right side out, and back on in a matter of seconds without unbuckling her seat belt. Kyle stopped the car and reached over, gently smoothing his hands through her hair, cheating, and using his powers to tame the curls at least a little. "Do you want me to walk you to the door?" He offered and Tess shook her head.

She glanced in the mirror and smiled at her smoothed down hair. "Oh, magic." She smiled, and then shook her head again. "No. You'd better not. He's probably sitting on the couch with his gun trained on the door or something. Just waiting for you. I'll see you at school tomorrow." She kissed him again before leaping out of the car and running up the yard. Cautiously she pushed open the door and then froze. The lights were all off. She looked in the driveway. He wasn't even home. Tess frowned and waved to Kyle before walking in and flipping on the lights. She found a note sitting on the table by the door.

_Tess, _

_Went to work, be home late._

_Dad_

Tess grabbed the note and crumpled it up and immediately headed for her room. She was more than relieved that he wasn't home to yell at her. But what was so important that he was working so late?

The next afternoon at school, Maria ducked into the Eraser room. Kyle and Alex were already waiting. "Sorry, I had to pick up extra credit work after class." She rolled her eyes and waved her hand over the door handle. "What's up?"

"Kyle and I were talking, about everything. Mainly about the fact that Michael, Tess and Valenti know the truth." Maria nodded faintly.

"And?"

"My ability is to alter memories. I can make them all forget what you are." Maria's mouth fell open a little.

"What? You can?" Kyle nodded. Maria was unsure about how she felt about it. The idea of Valenti no longer hunting her made her very happy. But the idea of Michael no longer knowing. He would have no tie to her anymore. It would be for the best, she was sure.

"The sooner, the better." He told her quietly.

"So just like that? And they forget? Could you... my mom... she's still suspicious. Is it safe? You aren't going to like turn them into zombies or anything are you? Lobotomized?"

"No, no, Maria." Kyle shook his head quickly. "I've done it before, it's perfectly safe. It's just a little alteration. A minor tweak of the mind and Michael won't ever remember what you said to him. Tess will forget, and I can get Valenti off your back."

"Okay..." Maria nodded slowly. She didn't like the idea. It scared her, but if they didn't do this, she was sure it would all just get worse.

"I have a date with Tess tonight. Hopefully I can get Valenti at the same time. And I don't know Michael, so you're going to have to figure out the best time for me to take care of his memories."

"Yeah." Maria nodded slightly. "Sure." The bell rang for class and Maria waved her hand over the door knob and quickly ducked out of the room.

Maria got home finally after a short shift at the Crashdown, she had a quiet dinner with her mother. A part of her couldn't wait for Kyle to erase some of these things from her memory. To make things better. "I'm gonna shower and go to bed, mom." Maria said after cleaning the kitchen. She slipped down to her room, took a long, hot shower and then changed into her pajamas. She fell back onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Looking at the glow in the dark stars. Only a few of them were lit up due to the small bedside lamp that Maria had turned on. The ones in the corners of her room. She heard a light tapping and glanced towards her window. "What are you doing here, Michael?"

"I wanted to ask how that meeting with Kyle and Alex went. You avoided me the rest of the day, and I had to go straight home to the Pascal's and watch the kids again." Michael silently hefted himself through Maria's window and looked at her. "Well?"

"It was fine. Kyle is going to be able to... fix things."

"Fix things?' Michael asked softly, settling himself down on Maria's floor, up against her bed.

"His ability," Maria told him as she sat down beside him. "He can alter people's memories, I guess. So, Tess, Valenti, my mom..." Maria bit her lip. "Tess and Valenti will forget that I am, what I am. And my mom, she won't be so suspicious of me anymore."

"Is it safe?" Michael asked, concerned. He didn't like the idea of Kyle frying one of his best friend's brains.

"Kyle says it is. That they will all be just fine."

"Then this is good news." Michael said, a little unsure. A tear rolled down Maria's cheek and Michael frowned. "Maria?" He cupped her face and made her look at him. "What is it?"

"They want to do it to you too, to make you forget what I am." Michael froze and Maria quickly pulled away and rubbed her eyes, willing the tears to stop. "I agreed, you'll be safer that way. And honestly, so will I. They won't ever be able to use you to get to me or anything, because you won't know anything. Of course there are some things you'll have to remember, like well our car accident. Little things. But after Kyle does this, I'll just go back to being the strange girl at school. The one that everyone thinks is high."

"No." Michael told her.

"There isn't any other option." Maria looked down at her hands.

"I don't want him rummaging around in my brain." Michael growled quietly. There was stuff in his brain he didn't even want to know about. He didn't want a stranger in there. Who knew what else he would do in there.

"Michael, we have to."

"I don't want him in my head." Michael told her again. "Isn't there another way?"

"Would you feel better if it was me?" Maria asked him and Michael shrugged. There were things in his head he didn't want her to know either.

"Can you promise to only look at the memories of you? Nothing else?"

"I'll talk to Kyle about it, and I'll ask him. I'll talk to him in the morning, he says the sooner we do it, the better."

"So this is my last night of remembering you?" Michael asked her softly and she nodded. "But you'll still remember?" She nodded again. He watched her, still staring down at her hands. He reached over and gently grasped them in his hands and pulled her towards him. "When you are in there, will you be able to feel what I felt?"

Maria shrugged. "I don't know."

"If you can, you'll be able to feel how sorry I am for betraying you. I never meant to hurt you, I only wanted to help. To keep you safe. You told me your secret, you trusted me, and I didn't believe you, and then I told Tess. I'm glad that Kyle can fix this, that he can make it better, but I think that guilt will always be with me. Even if I don't remember why its there."

"Thank you." Maria whispered softly. She was now on her knees beside him, one of his arms had wound around her waist and pulled her against his body.

"Since this is the last night, can I ask a few questions?" Maria nodded. "You and Max? What happened?"

"He was helping me with school and then... the night we watched the movie, he kissed me." Maria hung her head in shame. "The next day I told him I was sorry, he jumped to the conclusion that I was simply using him. He still loves Liz. That's the only reason he liked me, because he missed out with her."

"I always liked you." Michael reached up and brushed a lock of damp hair back from her face.

"Liar."

Michael shook his head. "I'm not."

Maria stared in to his eyes for a long moment, and she could feel it. She knew it wasn't lying. "Thank you." Her voice cracked and she kissed him suddenly. Deeply and passionately. His arm tightened around her while the other slid into her hair, holding her mouth against his. Kissing her like there was no tomorrow. Because for them, there wasn't.

Alex sat on the couch, his arm around Isabel's shoulders as she sat snuggled into his side. They were watching some lame movie, but it was making them both laugh. "Hey, Iz?"

"Yeah?" She tilted her head back to look up at Alex.

"I talked with Maria today."

"And?" Isabel frowned.

"She's my best friend, Iz. We've been friends forever. She's been going through a really rough patch with loosing Liz. I need to fix things with her. I already lost Liz, I can't loose her too." Alex was still staring at the TV. He didn't want to look at Isabel, and see her disapproval.

"Okay." She told him simply.

"Okay?" Alex looked down, with a frown of his own.

"Look, I don't know Maria. I never really did. All I know is what everyone has been saying. I believe you that she's been having a rough time. But, I also know that she really hurt Max. Whether intentional or not. I have a problem with that. But she is your friend, I don't want to come between you two. I couldn't imagine if I lost Tess, or Michael, or my brother. So, I want you to fix things with her." Alex's mouth was hanging open by the time she finished speaking. Isabel smiled slightly. "I'm not a bad person, Alex. I don't want your whole world to revolve around me. Part of it, yeah, but not all of it."

Alex grinned at her and cupped her face. "You know, I always knew you were amazing." He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her softly at first, but quickly the kiss escalated into something much more passionate.

"Mom and Dad are going to be out of town till tomorrow." Max's voice filled the room. He stood at the end of the couch, a disapproving look on his face.

"Thanks for the update." Isabel glanced towards her brother.

"Don't think that just because our parents are out of town that you're getting into my sister's pants." Max told Alex.

"Max!" Isabel shrieked. "Okay, the overprotective bit, that's a little old. Since when have you cared what I did with any guy?" Max muttered some quiet reply before walking back down the hallway. Isabel turned back to look at Alex and blushed. "Sorry." She murmured.

"It's okay." Alex pulled her close again, leaning against the arm of the couch, and pulling Isabel to stretch out beside him. "I wasn't planning to do anything more than kissing, not that I don't want to do more than kissing, because believe me, I do. Who wouldn't want-"

"Alex." Isabel tipped her head back and kissed him softly. "Finish watching the movie." He smiled and kissed the crown of her head before focusing back on the TV. But in the back of his mind he was realizing he was falling head over heels in love with Isabel Evans.

Kyle held Tess against his side as they stared up at the stars. He opened his mouth, and then closed it. "Tess?"

"Huh?" She raised herself up to rest on her elbow, her other hand on his chest.

Just once, he wanted to say the words, to tell someone. "I'm like Maria. I'm an alien."

Tess laughed softly. "What?" Then as the words sunk in, her face grew more serious. "What? What are you talking about Kyle?" Her face was a mess of confusion.

"Could you ever love someone that isn't even human?"

"Kyle... you're..." She started to pull back, and sit up. "You're scaring me."

"I'm sorry. I take it all back. I was kidding." He grasped her hand, and was instantly in her head. He easily found her thoughts of Maria. Some were nasty. Mean. Unlike the bubbly blonde he had grown so fond of. Others were worry, and concern. There was terror in there as well. He removed all traces of alien knowledge from her head. Maria was human, who was having a really hard time dealing with the death of her friend. And he was human too. Nothing out of the ordinary. But there was a glimpse of a memory. Something she didn't even remember consciously. Her mother. It was there, and then it was gone. Kyle broke the connection and Tess looked at him confused.

"What?" She laughed. "What were you saying?"

"I was saying, that as much as I want to kidnap you, and hold you hostage forever, I should get you home, I don't want to get arrested or anything."

Tess pouted but nodded. "Okay." She leaned forward and kissed him softly. "You know, I really like you." Tess blushed and then stood up quickly and brushed the invisible dirt from her clothes. Kyle stood and shook out the blanket before tossing it in the trunk.

Hours later, Maria was exhausted. She was stretched out in her bed with Michael. Hours of making out had made her lips sore, her breathing labored. This was a memory she would cherish, and hate at the same time for the rest of her life. "Is there any part of you, that I'll get to keep?" Michael asked, with his lips against the top of her head. She was fit against the side of his body, her head resting on his chest.

"No..." She shook her head, and sniffled quietly. "It isn't fair, Kyle gets to keep Tess. Because she doesn't know anything about him. Just me. But I have to give you up. I'll have my memories, but I won't get to keep you." Maria sighed heavily and snuggled deeper into his side. "Tomorrow morning, meet us in the music room, before school starts."

"Sleep, Maria." Michael told her softly, and moments later, she was sound asleep. He watched her for a while. The house had long ago gone quiet. His foster parents would kill him if they found out he'd snuck out again. He carefully dislodged himself from Maria's arms and glanced around her room. He wanted something to remember her by. To keep some part of her. It wouldn't make any sense to him once Kyle had wiped his memory. But at least he'd still have it. Michael silently walked over to Maria's vanity table and looked over all the vials, and then he spotted it. Her nameplate necklace. She wore it all the time. She'd notice it was missing. But what would she do? Demand to know where he'd put it, when he wouldn't even remember taking it. He snagged the chain and stuffed it into his pocket.

Michael glanced back at Maria, sleeping soundly in her bed, curled up into a ball. He walked over and softly kissed the top of her head before slipping back out the window. He headed back to the Pascal's. The closest thing he had to a home. He slipped through the window, and saw Dylan laying in bed playing his hand held video game.

"Why won't Maria come over again?"

"She won't ever be back." Michael shook his head. "It's too complicated to even explain." Michael grabbed the video game from Dylan. "Go to sleep." He shoved Dylan's game under his pillow as he flopped onto his bed and buried his face in his pillow.

"But, I liked her."

"Me too, Dylan. Me too."

Early the next morning Maria got ready quickly. Kyle was coming over before school to use his powers on her mom. It still made her uneasy. Part of her was afraid he'd screw up and her mom would be even worse. Or he'd do so much damage that she might just fall over an die. Maria reached for her necklace on her vanity table and frowned. She'd remembered taking it off the night before she went to take her shower and setting it right in the middle.

"Mom?" She called poking her head out her door. "Have you seen my necklace?"

"Narrow it down Maria, which one?"

"My nameplate one? The one Liz got me?"

"Weren't you wearing it yesterday?"

"Yeah, and now I can't find it!" Maria glanced back at the table and her frown deepened. She knew that she left it there.

"I don't know honey, come have some breakfast." Maria hurried down to the kitchen and sat down at the table where there was a bowl waiting, along with the box of cereal.

"Thanks mom." She said before quickly shoveling the Lucky Charms in her mouth. Just as she was finishing she heard a knock at the door.

"Who could that be?" Amy looked towards the door.

"I got it!" Maria leapt up and crossed the room to the door. "Hey, Kyle."

"Hey."

"Mom, this is my friend Kyle, the one I was hanging out with the other day. I just wanted to introduce you to him, just moved here a few months ago, he's a good guy."

"Oh." Amy looked at the young man, almost a little surprised.

"It's nice to meet you, Ms. DeLuca." Kyle extend his hand out towards her. Amy took it, and Kyle quickly slipped into her mind. Within seconds he was pulling his hand back and smiling.

"It is nice to meet you, too, Kyle."

"We're heading to school early, I still have a little work to catch up on. See you later, Mom." Maria grabbed her book bag and headed out the door with Kyle. "It worked?" He nodded. "And Tess and the Sheriff?"

"Taken care of. Michael is the only one left."

Maria sighed softly. "I told him to meet us in the music room this morning before school." For a few minutes Maria didn't say anything on their way to the school. "Michael really doesn't want to do this."

"Maria, we have to."

"No, I know. But, he said he doesn't want you in his head. Is there any way that..." She bit her lip. "That I could somehow do it? Use your powers? Plus, I know all the stuff that he needs to forget, so that would make it easier, right? If it is possible."

Kyle glanced over at Maria. "I don't know. I've never tried that before. I guess we can try."

They got to school and headed for the music room. Maria couldn't help but sigh when she saw Michael standing near the window, staring outside.

"Hey." Kyle nodded towards him.

"Hey." Michael responded, turning his head to look at them. Maria quickly crossed the room and looked up at him.

"What did you do with my necklace?"

A faint smirk grew across Michael's face. "I'm not telling."

Maria's mouth fell open in shock. "Michael." She hissed quietly.

Michael leaned down and pressed his lips against her ear. "I'm not loosing you."

"You can't." Maria whispered. "Don't-"

"You can't stop me." He told her softly, then looked at Kyle. "Let's get this over with."

Kyle walked over to the two of them and took Maria's hand, so that he could try to allow her to use his powers.

Maria looked at Kyle, then at Michael and slowly reached out to take Michael's hand. She wasn't sure how it worked. But as soon as she thought about it, she knew exactly what to do.

Maria held Michael's hand tightly in her's. Her other hand was clasped around Kyle's and Kyle's other hand rested on Michael's shoulder. The connection was there. Maria stared into Michael's eyes for a moment before closing her eyes and focusing on Kyle's powers. She began to sift through her own memories, as well as Michael's, finding all the little things about her being otherworldly. And just like that, he forgot them. The consciousness was still there. He still knew, but it started to disappear. Her mind rolled over their kiss the night before. She paused on that. The thought of removing it from him hurt her. She felt his hand tighten around hers. He was remembering it too. She focused on it, letting it fade, and dissolve. Though she couldn't bring herself to remove it completely. She left a hint of it there, as a dream, from months and months ago. It would still be in his head, but so far in the back it wouldn't matter. And just like that, she was gone from him. Maria had used Kyle's powers to erase herself from his mind. Of course, some things remained. Like them getting into the car accident, her stopping by his house to help with Sarah. But everything else was gone. And then she found the necklace in his memory. He had hidden it in his room. She made him forget that he took it. Forget that he had it. If he found it, he would have no idea where it came from.

Unable to hold onto him any longer she wrenched her hand back, to let Kyle finish the job. She stepped back quickly, walking towards the door. "Let's go." Kyle's voice was right next to her.

"He okay?" Maria glanced back and Michael was staring out the window again.

"He's fine. He won't remember being in here with us. He'll snap out of it in a minute, but we need to get out of here before he does." Kyle pushed open the door and they quickly left the music room. Together they walked down the hallway to their lockers.

"Hey!" Tess exclaimed seeing them. She flung her arms around Kyle's neck and kissed him firmly. "Hey, Maria."

"Hey." Maria said, feeling awkward. She busied herself with digging in her locker.

"Hey, Kyle, I'll see you in class, okay?" Tess glanced towards Maria, and then back at him.

"Sure..." Kyle glanced towards Maria who was doing her best to ignore the two of them. "See you, Maria."

"Bye." Maria called waving him off, but not bothering to look up.

"Maria." Tess' voice was beside her now.

"Yeah?" Maria waited anxiously. What if Tess remembered something?

"I just wanted to say, that I know we're not really friends anymore, but we used to be. We were best friends for a long time... I kind of miss that, miss you. Anyways, I just want you to know, I know you're going through a rough time, with Liz dying and school, and whatever it is that happened with Max. I just want you to know, that if you need a friend, that isn't Kyle or Alex. I'm here for you."

Maria lifted her head and stared at Tess in shock. "Thanks... you don't have to-"

"Maria, I know what it's like, I lost my mom. And when I did, I pushed you away, when I probably really needed you most. I know that it's been a few months, I'm sorry it has taken me this long to say anything. But I mean it, anything you need, you can come to me."

"Thank you, Tess." Maria felt tears stinging her eyes and blinked quickly. "That really means a lot to me."

Tess smiled at Maria and reached out to gently touch her shoulder. "After school, Isabel and I were talking about going to the movies with the boys, do you want to come with us?"

Maria shook her head. "I have to work. Sorry. But you guys go and have fun."

"You need to have some fun too, sometime, Maria."

"I will." Maria gave her a little smile, before the first bell rang. "See you later." Maria said to Tess before closing her locker and quickly hurrying away towards her first class.

Days went by, and days turned to weeks. Everything was seemingly normal. Valenti had stopped snooping around. Tess and Isabel were both pleasant to Maria. To Michael, she no longer existed. Not really anyways. He'd nodded to her a few times in the hall. A muttered 'hey' when he'd come into the Crashdown with the others. Even though Maria was being included in their group, she felt more alone. She missed the connection she had with Michael, no matter how strained it had been at some points. She had still felt comfortable with him. But everything was back to normal with her mom.

"Goodnight mom." Maria said, poking her head into the living room.

"Goodnight, honey."

Maria closed her bedroom door, and changed into her pajamas before crawling into bed.

"I'm going to go for a walk." Michael told Mrs. Pascal, while she was trying to rock Sarah to sleep.

"Alright, Michael, just don't be out too late, okay?"

"Sure." He nodded and grabbed his jacket as he headed out the door. He had no real idea where he was going. But all he knew was that he wanted to walk. So he let his feet carry him. After several minutes he found himself standing in front of a house. He paused. He knew the house, but couldn't remember why. Silently Michael walked towards it. He instantly found the side gate and walked down the narrow path.

He found himself standing in front of a large window, that had plastic beads dangling down in front of it. Michael frowned. It was familiar, but he didn't know why. He leaned forward, peeking into the window. Maria DeLuca. His frown deepened. He had no idea why he was there, or how he knew where her room was, or even where she lived. He watched her for several minutes. She kicked off the blankets at one point, and he ducked down when her bedroom door opened a crack. Ms. DeLuca poked her head into her room, and then stepped in to pull the blankets back up before leaving the room.

Michael was confused. Silently as he came, he quickly left the house and headed back to his own.

"Did you have a nice walk?" Mrs. Pascal asked with a smile when he walked in.

Michael nodded faintly. "Yeah." He started to walk down the hall and then paused to look back at her. Sarah was asleep, and Mrs. Pascal was watching the news. "I just wanted to say thanks." He told her. "For you know, everything." Michael stood there a second longer before walking down the hall to the room he shared with Dylan. He fell backwards onto his bed and stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out why Maria DeLuca was suddenly in his head so strongly.


	12. Chapter 12

**I want to say thank you so much to those of you that have stuck by this story! I know the updates have been few and far between, but with the drama of real life and a massive case of writers block I've had a tough time. I do plan to finish this story, and hope that you wonderful readers will stick with me!**

**Chapter Twelve**

Maria sat at a table in the library, an assortment of books spread out in front of her. She was supposed to be doing research for her history paper, but she was finding it difficult to concentrate. Her mind kept drifting away, to things like Tess and Isabel, Alex and Kyle. To Michael. Valenti, and the FBI. Her own mother. Her other planet.

She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't notice Michael approach her table until he sat down across from her, jarring her from her thoughts. Maria stared across the table at him, unsure of what to do or say. Suddenly he slammed his hand down on the table. When he pulled his hand away Maria spotted her nameplate necklace. "Why did I have this?" He asked.

Maria stared at the necklace. "I..." She bit her lip. How could she explain it away? "I must have left it over there or something, maybe that night I helped with Sarah."

Michael shook his head. "I don't buy it."

"Why?"

"Because, I would have just given it back. I found this-" Michael paused, shifting his eyes away for a second. "Someplace I wouldn't have just stuck it if you'd just left it on accident."

"What do you want me to say Michael?"

"I don't know." He snatched up the necklace again quickly. "But, I feel like I'm being left out of something."

Maria looked down at the table, she wasn't sure what to say. She wished she could tell him the truth. She wished she could have him back in her life again.

"Why did you stop coming around? Dylan keeps asking about you." Michael laughed slightly. "Even Mrs. Pascal is asking about you."

"I miss you." Maria said lifting her head up to look at him. "I mean... I liked hanging out. You were there after Liz... and... I miss it."

"So then what...?" Michael held his hand out, palm up, with the necklace laying in it. "What do we do?"

"Can we be friends?" Maria asked quietly, her eyes shifting to his hand. "Can we just i_be/i_ friends?"

"I would like that."

Slowly Maria reached her hand out and Michael laid her necklace in her palm. He gently folded his hand over hers, closing her fingers around the necklace. Maria felt her heart flutter at the simple touch. She missed that so much. "Thank you." She whispered.

Michael smiled at her, and then glanced at the clock on the wall when the bell rang. "I should get to my next class."

"Actually going to class these days?" Maria smirked.

"Well, yeah... Mrs. Pascal... she..." He shrugged and stood up. "She cares about this stuff."

"Good. I'm glad." She looked back at her books. "I should get back to my paper."

"See you." Michael waved a little and walked out of the library.

Maria stared after him, feeling a slight feeling of longing. So he was back in her life, but it wasn't the same. But maybe it would be eventually. Maybe it would be better.

Jim Valenti stared at the papers before him. He had several files, on Maria DeLuca, and Liz Parker. He didn't know why. But as he flipped through them, he began to come to a horrifying realization. Something was going on. He knew it. These were his notes. He had written these things. But he had no memory of it. He didn't remember writing it, he didn't remember seeing it. Liz Parker had been listening to a CD without a CD player? It was floating and glowing?

There had been rumors about Maria DeLuca being on drugs, as well as a rumor of her being an alien. Tess had told him that. He had made a note of it. But why didn't he remember? Why didn't Tess know? He had asked Tess earlier that day, she didn't have any idea what he was talking about. He knew that Maria DeLuca was behind it. Alien? Was that it? Had she done something to him... to Tess? The idea made him livid.

He grabbed his jacket and threw it on and grabbed his keys on the way out the door. He was going to find out the truth.

Maria smiled at the only people left in the restaurant. It was just near closing, and Kyle, Tess, Isabel and Alex had come to grab a bite to eat before heading to a late movie. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Isabel suggested again, for what had to be the tenth time that night.

Maria shook her head. "No, I've got too much left to do tonight. After I finish closing up I've gotta go home and finish my homework."

"You've got all weekend for your homework." Tess told her.

Maria had never felt more accepted than she had in the last few weeks. "Thanks you guys, but I really can't. You go, have fun." Maria felt more accepted with them, but she also felt like the fifth wheel. Alex and Isabel were a gooey sweet couple. Not completely sickening. Maria had more than once watched as they simply stared at each other, both seemingly in awe of the other. They adored each other. Tess and Kyle were the King and Queen of PDA's. More than once Maria had come around a corner and found them making out. They were all happy. Maria was jealous of that. She wanted that. She'd never had the chance with Michael.

"Go on, you guys are going to be late, and I'd really like to lock up." She pointed to the door and smiled at them. "So, get out."

The group laughed and jointly tossed money on the table. "Maybe we can drive out to Albuquerque tomorrow." Tess suggested as they headed for the door. "Spring Formal is coming up. We'll need dresses."

"Sure." Maria nodded, though she had no intention of going to the dance. She watched them all disappear out the door and she sighed and headed back behind the counter in search of her purse to find her keys so she could lock the door. She knelt down and dug through her purse for the little green alien keychain that her key was attached to.

Maria heard the bell over the door go off and cursed silently under her breath. "I'm sorry," she called. "We're closed." She finally found her key and popped up to see who had walked in. She froze. "Sheriff." She couldn't help but swallow hard at the sight of him. "Can I … help you?" Her hands were trembling. Even though she knew that he didn't know anything, she was still terrified of him.

"What did you do?" His voice came out harsh and Maria flinched at the sound.

"What?" She asked confused.

"To Tess! My daughter! You did something."

"I... no... I … what are you talking about? She's out... with Kyle. A movie." Maria didn't understand. Kyle said he wouldn't remember.

"You did something to me! To my daughter! What is it?! You freak!"

Maria shook her head quickly. Fear was coursing through her veins. "What... what are you talking about?" She mentally berated herself for sounding so scared, so guilty. She hadn't done anything, personally.

Suddenly he pulled his gun from the holster and cocked it.

"Sheriff, what are you doing?" Maria felt the tears begin to roll down her cheeks. "I don't know what you're talking about, I didn't do anything to anyone."

"You did something to her. I know what you are. She knew, she didn't believe it, but she knew. And now... she doesn't remember any of it. Just thinks its drugs."

"I swear, I didn't do anything to her!" Maria was frantically thinking, trying to figure out the best way to get out. She glanced towards the door that separated the kitchen from the front of the restaurant and when she glanced back she squeaked in the back of her throat. Jim Valenti had his gun pointed directly at her.

"What. Did. You. Do!?" He yelled at her.

She was going to die, just like Liz. Right where Liz had died.

"Please, don't do this, I don't know... I didn't..."

"You killed my wife!"

Maria's mouth fell open in shock. "No! I never! Please!" She sobbed. She heard the crack of the gun and she just stood there, staring at him in shock. Slowly she looked down and saw the blood oozing from the hole in her uniform. She pulled down the collar and found the hole in her chest, just above her left breast. "You..." She looked back up at Valenti. There was no remorse in his eyes.

"You're a murderer." He hissed.

"So are you." Maria whispered, and then coughed. Blood splattered from her mouth and her knees gave out suddenly.

"You're not human, so you don't count." Jim told her and she heard the bell over the door go off again and the door slammed shut.

Maria began to sob quietly. She was going to die Alone, on the dirty floor of the restaurant. She couldn't call 9-1-1. They would take blood again, they would figure it all out. Her phone was in her purse under the counter. She knew that she wouldn't be able to make it. But after pushing herself up onto her hands and knees she began to crawl, slowly and painfully. It hurt. Every move made her chest explode with fire. Blood was oozing from her mouth, and every breath nearly knocked her unconscious. She could literally feel the blood pumping out of her chest with every beat of her heart. She crawled until she couldn't crawl anymore.

Laying partially behind the counter. Exactly where Liz had died. Tears streamed down her face and she collapsed onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. She did not want to die. Her mother would be heart broken.

"Oh, I forgot my jacket." Tess told Kyle as they walked down the sidewalk. "I'm going to run back really quick."

"I'll come with." He told her.

"No, go buy the movie tickets. It'll only take me a minute." She gave him a quick kiss and then jogged back in the direction of the Crashdown Cafe. She reached the door quickly and was surprised to find it unlocked. "Maria?" She called as a warning, not wanting to scare her. "I forgot my jacket." Tess walked inside and towards the booth they had just recently vacated, that was still a mess with dirty plates. She frowned. "Maria?" She called, and then froze when she saw the blood on the floor. "Maria!" Tess screamed and saw her foot around the edge of the counter.

Tess ran to her, and dropped down on her knees. "Oh god, Maria." She looked over her, and saw the gaping hole in her chest, oozing blood. Quickly she pressed her hands onto the wound hard, and nearly jumped back when she saw Maria's eyes go wide.

"K-k-kyle." Maria struggled to get out. "Ge-get K-kyle."

"I need to call an ambulance!"

"Kyle." Maria managed out again. "Alex." Her voice was broken, and Tess could see the blood in her mouth. She knew that Maria wouldn't have much time at this rate, with all the blood she'd already lost.

"Okay." Tess quickly moved one hand from the wound and grabbed her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed Kyle's number.

"Tess?" Kyle sounded confused.

"Get to the Crashdown. Now. Maria's been shot." Tess' voice came out calm, and clear, but inside she was terrified. Her hands were trembling and now covered in blood. She dropped her phone and pressed her hand back against the wound. "Don't you dare die, Maria. Please don't die." Tess begged as tears began to stream down her face.

Moments later Alex, Kyle, and Isabel burst through the front door of the diner. "Oh shit." Kyle exclaimed seeing Maria. Alex quickly took Tess' place, pressing his hands to the wound.

Alex knew there was no way he could heal this. He couldn't heal anything. "Nescedo." Maria's voice croaked. "Call him." Alex looked up at Kyle, who was already grabbing his phone.

"What is going on?" Isabel asked in a panic. "You guys need to call 911!"

"Isabel, we can't." Alex told her calmly. "You two need to just sit down, and let us take care of this. Then we promise we'll explain." Isabel was shaking her head, but slowly moved to stand beside Tess. "I promise, Isabel. I'll explain."

"It'll be okay." Maria told them, her voice was quiet, and the pain was evident on her face.

"Just hold on, Maria." Kyle said. He focused back to the phone in his hand. "Get to the Crashdown. Now. Maria has been shot." He hung up the phone and knelt down on the other side of her.

Time seemed to stretch on for hours. What was only a few minutes felt like hours. Tess and Isabel were anxious, knowing that they needed to call 911 but they were trusting what Alex and Kyle said, even if they didn't know why.

Alex and Kyle had their hands pressed against the wound in Maria's chest, desperately trying to send her any bit of energy that might keep her hanging on just enough. Until Nescedo could get there and fix it. The front door opened and all eyes flew to the person walking through the door.

Nescedo glared at Isabel and Tess when he saw them, but ignored them for the moment. They would be dealt with later. He knelt down at Maria's head, and reached into his pocket. "Take these." He handed them each a pale yellow stone, and held one in his own hand. "Focus all of your energy, through the stone, into Maria.."

Alex stared at the large polished stone, and then looked at Maria's face. She was pale. He was terrified she was going to die. He couldn't loose her like he lost Liz. He focused all of his energy into the stone, hoping and praying that she would be okay. i_I can't loose you. I can't loose you. I can't loose you./i_ He repeated over and over in his head.

Tess and Isabel looked at each other and then quickly back at the scene before them. It was unbelievable. The stones began to glow after a few seconds, and all was silent. They waited with bated breath, to see if Maria would be okay.

Michael sat at the kitchen table, finishing up his math homework. Dylan sat across from him grumbling over his own homework. Mrs. Pascal was in the kitchen, finishing cleaning up after dinner. Sarah was on the floor banging a wooden spoon on a metal pan. Michael's mind kept drifting away from his homework. To thoughts of Maria. To the feel of her hand under his earlier that day. To the taste of her lips. He didn't remember kissing her, not in real life. In a dream. But it seemed so real. Sitting on the floor of her bedroom, leaning against the bed. The way her hair felt between his fingers. How her lips fit so perfectly against his.

The memory confused him. He knew that he'd never been to her house before that night he'd gone walking. And even then he didn't know how he knew it was her house. To have a memory, so crisp, so clear in his mind. "I'm going for a walk." Michael said suddenly, slamming his math book shut.

"Did you finish your homework?" Mrs. Pascal asked.

"Yeah." Michael lied and shoved his book into his bag. "I'll be back." He stood up and quickly walked out of the house. He wanted to find Maria. He wanted to talk to her. Michael headed for her house, but was surprised not to find the Jetta there. Maybe her mom was gone, and she was home. He walked up and knocked on the door. After a moment her heard shuffling inside, and then the door opened to reveal Ms. DeLuca.

"Michael?"

"Uh... hi. Ms. DeLuca." He reached up and scratched his eyebrow. "I know it's kind of late... but is Maria home?"

"No," Amy shook her head. "She's still at work." Amy smiled a little at him. "Are you and Maria speaking again?"

Michael shrugged a little. "Yeah, I guess we are."

"Why did you two even stop?" She asked.

"I have no idea." Michael told her. "Thanks though, I guess I'll go try to catch her over there."

_Aeron stood beside her sister, Iliana, the queen of their home planet, Antar. They were facing a war. A battle with another planet. The man that ruled that planet, Khivar was unlike the other rules of the planets. Aeron and Iliana's family had ruled Antar for centuries. As had the other rulers of the other planets. Khivar had taken over Vasila. He'd been a trusted second, as Aeron was for Iliana. But he was not family. He killed the King in his sleep, along with the King's only son. _

_And then Khivar had launched a war against all the other planets. Antar was the only one left. The others had fought, and fallen. Aeron knew that the chance of them surviving was slim. She turned her head to look at her sister. "Until the end." Iliana told her. _

"_Until the end." Aeron repeated. Together they looked up to the sky, and could see the blazing lights of Khivars ship approaching. They would fall. Khivar would rule. But they would go down fighting._

Maria gasped suddenly and sat up. She felt strong. She felt good. Her mind was crystal clear. It felt odd to think that seconds earlier she'd been a hairsbreadth away from death, and now she was fine. She was better than fine. "We have to take care of the Valenti problem." She told them quietly, so that Tess and Isabel wouldn't overhear. "All of the files have to be destroyed. There can't be anything left for him to find, that will make him have a reminder of the truth." Maria looked down at herself, her uniform was soaked with blood.

She looked at Isabel and Tess, both looking a little terrified, and exhausted. "And now you two know... we're not exactly normal, our lives basically depend on you not telling anyone, anything."

"Excuse me." Nescedo interjected. "They cannot be left to remember."

"I'm the Queen now, right? I make the rules." Maria snapped at him. "They get to keep their memories. You're not taking that away from them..." She paused and turned back to the two girls in question. "That is, unless you want us to."

Tess' grip on Kyle's hand visibly tightened. "No." She said immediately.

Isabel chewed on her lip as she stared at Alex. "If I said yes... what would happen?"

"We'd make you forget. About what happened tonight. And if you want, all about me. I'm sure we could make you remember some horrible fight, where I was terribly mean to you, and you beat the crap out of me, and told me to never come around again." Alex told her softly.

"You'd give me up?"

"Not easily." He whispered. "I don't want to, but if it is what you want... if you'd rather not have a green-gilled freak for a boyfriend, I'd understand."

Isabel slipped her hand into Alex's and shook her head. "No. I don't want to forget. I swear, I won't say a word, to anyone."

Alex smiled slightly as Isabel and squeezed her hand, and then turned to look at Maria. "Queen?" He asked.

"Liz...Iliana. She was the ruler, I am her sister. You two were our betrothed. Khivar killed us all." She turned to Nescedo. "And you were sent here to protect us! And you didn't protect her!"

"Blame him." Nescedo looked at Kyle. "He was supposed to reveal himself to you, long before Liz was shot."

"No." Maria snapped. "I blame you. You knew. You knew who we were, and you never said a word. You could have prevented all of this."

"How could I have stopped Liz from being shot?"

"You could have saved her." Maria turned away from him and looked at Tess. "Tess... I need your help right now."

"What?" She asked, a little unsure.

"Do you know where your father would have kept any files that he wanted to keep secret?"

Tess nodded. "Yeah. He's got a drawer in his office at home."

"We have to destroy them, and then we have to find him."

"He... did he...?" Tess swallowed hard. "Did he do this to you?"

Maria nodded slightly. "He did. But he's not himself Tess." Maria didn't want to defend the man. She didn't want to reassure Tess that her father really was a good person. Maria knew that he wasn't. He was far from it. The man had made her life a living hell for months and months, and as far as he knew, he'd just killed her. He was a bad man, but he was all Tess had, so Maria was going to do whatever she could to make sure that Tess got to keep her father.

Tears filled her eyes. "My grandfather, he was kicked off the force years ago, because he shot a man he thought was an alien." Tess' jaw trembled. "Was he?"

"No. Your grandfather shot an innocent man." Nescedo spoke up.

"Tess, it'll be okay. We can fix this, we can help him, and then everything will be okay." Maria tried to reassure her.

Kyle pulled her into his arms and held her against his chest. "It'll be okay. I promise."

Maria looked at Nescedo. "You clean this mess up here. We're going to go and take care of the rest of this mess." Maria ducked into the backroom to grab her sweater and tugged it on. It covered most of the blood. She walked back up front and together they walked out of the diner. "Alex, why don't you take Isabel home."

"Sure." Alex nodded and nodded towards the car. "Go ahead, I'll be right there." Isabel nodded and walked the short distance towards Alex's station wagon. Suddenly Alex pulled Maria into a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're okay." He told her. "Don't you ever do that to me again. I can't loose you."

Maria hugged him back just as tight. "I'll do my best, Alex. Now go. We've gotta go take care of this."

"Call me if you need any help." Alex squeezed her again and stepped back.

Maria watched him walk back to his car and looked at Tess and Kyle. "Alright, lets go."

Michael approached the diner and paused seeing Maria and the others standing just outside the doors to the restaurant. There was a man Michael had never seen inside, shooting Maria what he could only categorize as a 'death look' as she hugged Alex who quickly walked to his car. Michael was pretty sure he could make out Isabel in the car. Kyle, Tess and Maria started walking towards another car and Michael stepped forward. "Maria?" He called, and they all froze.

"Michael?" Maria asked, she had a deep frown on her face and as Michael made his way towards the car he saw what looked like blood on Maria's uniform. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you." He scratched his eyebrow. "Is that blood?"

Maria looked down and then quickly tugged her sweater tighter around herself. "Yeah, I uh, got a nosebleed."

"Nosebleed?"

"Yeah." She shrugged. "I've got to..." She paused, unsure of what to tell him. "Can I just talk to you later? I'll come over."

"Sure." Michael watched her, he knew something was up, but he just didn't know what. The temptation to follow her was nagging at him, he knew it was wrong, he should just stay out of whatever it was that she didn't want him to know about. But he was actually worried about her.

"I'll come to your window." Maria smiled a little. A little bit of a role reversal. Her going to him, instead of the other way around. "I've gotta go, I'll see you later."

"Later." Michael stepped back and watched the trio climb into the car. Tess gave him a little wave as they sped away.

Kyle pulled his car to a stop in front of the Valenti's and they all saw Jim's police cruiser parked in the driveway. Maria couldn't help but gulp quietly. She wasn't sure what she was still so afraid of the man. He'd tried to kill her, and failed. Not by his own fault, but because she had some amazing help. But he'd failed nonetheless. They climbed out of the car and Tess and Kyle went first, walking up to the door. Tess was gripping Kyle's hand so tightly, her knuckles were turning white, and Kyle was wincing.

At the door Tess pushed it open slowly. "Daddy?" She called.

Kyle gave her hand a gentle squeeze, trying to reassure her. "I'm right here." He said quietly. "It'll be okay."

Maria followed behind them silently. She was there as a backup measure. Just in case Jim decided to go gun crazy again. She knew that she would be able to heal anything he did, now. She was stronger. Her new connection to their former lives, to Liz, it made her feel amazing.

"Dad?" Tess repeated as they walked towards the partially closed door, to her father's office. Light was spilling out through the crack. Slowly she pushed open the door. "Dad?" She stepped back quickly. She'd never seen him look so out of control. Not even after her mother had been killed. "What are you-"

"She's a liar!" He yelled. "She did it! I know she did!"

"Dad, what are you talking about?" Tess stepped in front of Kyle, knowing that her father would never hurt her.

"That freak. She killed your mother. I know she did!"

"Dad, what are you-"

Maria stepped through the doorway, angry that he was so insistent on the idea of her killing Michelle. "I most certainly did not." She declared.

"No!" Jim yelled, quickly pulling out his gun.

"Dad!" Tess screamed.

Kyle pulled Tess to him, spinning her farther away from her father.

Maria raised her hand.

The gun went off.

A shield spilled from Maria's hand. Forming a sort of bubble around herself, and Kyle and Tess. The bullet hit it, and stopped.

Tess was still screaming.

Kyle's eyes darted to Maria's face, perfectly calm and serene. As though the man pointing a gun at her had not just tried to kill her. The bullet, and Jim stared in shock. He shot again and again and again. Each bullet simply stopped and fell to the carpet.

"Stop." Maria commanded. She walked forward and ripped the gun from his hand. "Kyle. Do it."

Kyle released his hold on Tess and grabbed Jim's hand. He was in his head in an instant. Searching for all the memories. He wouldn't miss anything. Not this time. He wouldn't put Tess through this again.

Maria stood there for a second, watching the scene before her, and then looked at Tess. "You have to help me, hurry. We have to find everything."

Tess stood frozen for a moment, and then she was scrambling. She ran to the filling cabinet and yanked open the bottom drawer. "He puts everything in here." She started pulling out files, and found one on her mother, Liz, Maria. Aliens. Sightings. So many files.

Maria stood over the desk, looking at all the files there. Pictures of herself and Liz. Comments. All the words that probably triggered the whole thing. She pulled them into a pile, and threw them into the bottom drawer with the other one. She held her hand over it, and a moment later it all burst into flames. Incinerated in seconds. Nothing but ash. "Kyle, is that everything?"

"Yeah." He said, stepping back from Jim. "Get out of here, Maria."

Maria stopped to scoop up the bullets and then walked out of the office. She closed the door behind herself as she left the house and then paused. She had told Michael she would go and see him. She looked down at her still bloodstained uniform and waved her hand over it. Leaving just a trickle of blood, that could be explained away by her supposed nose bleed. But that didn't explain the bullet hole. She frowned and tightened her sweater around herself, tying the belt to keep it closed and started walking to Michael's.

As Maria approached the house she bit her lip and silently snuck around the side of the house. She stood up on her tip toes to peek through the window and hoped that it was Michael's and no one else's. She spotted Michael, laying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. She reached up and lightly clicked her fingers against the glass.


End file.
